The San Francisco call., 1906-09-14
Tons of Cans Go
Down With the
Wreckage.

OAKLAND, Sept 13.-With crash
that was heard more than a block
away, leading many persons to believe
that the boiler of the plant had ex-
ploded, a large section of the floor in
the syrup department of the canpery
of the California Gamers Association,
at First and Linden streets, collapsed
shortly before noon to-day, carrying
down with ii the storage room of the
plant. in which were stacked more than
twenty tons of filled and empty cans.
Warned by noise as the supports of
the floor gave way, those in the build
ing had started for safety but five
were caught before they could escape.
Four women were among the victims
of the accident, and that they were
not instantly killed is owing to the
fact that they had escaped from their
position directly beneath the store
room All, however, were caught
among the splintered timbers and fall
ing cans Mrs. A Horn. residing at
1902 Twenty eighth street, was
knocked down by a flying piece of
timber and fell upon a knife with.
which she was peeling fruit when the
floor gave way. Mrs. Julia Pardini, of
10 Filbert street, and Laura de Vinci,
residing at 3o2 San Pablo avenue, were
also struck down by falling debris, and
their hands We're cut with fruit knives
Alice ETICSOh was dloo Sut ny ldliAS
on knife.
CAUGHT UNDER TIMBERs.
Jose Prezotti and 3. A. Roscelli, who
were working at the syrup vats, failed
to heed the creaking of the timbers
as the floor gave way. and were
caught beneath a mass of falling tim
bers and cans, but these fell in such
a position that the men were not
crushed, and a moment later they
crawled from the wreck unhurt, but
almost insane from fright. They
rushed from the building into the
street and had to be forcibly held by
fellow workmen until they regained
their composure.
The injuries of Mrs. Horn and Mrs.
Pardini were treated at the Receiving
Hospital, after which they were re-
moved to their homes. Miss de Yinci
was taken directly home from the
scene of the accident, as was Miss
Ericsson, while Roscelli and Prezotti,
after they had recovered from their
fright insisted on returning to work.
AS far as the foremen of the differ
ent departments of the cannery have
been able to learn no others of the en-
ployes were injured, and all have been
accounted for.
Immediately after the collapse of the
floor and storeroom, one of the en-
ployes of the cannery turned in an
alarm OF fire, and within a few min
utes the fremen under the direction of
Fire Warden George Mcdonald were at
work searching the ruins for killed
or injured The firemen were aided by
a SQUAD of police headed by Captain
Petersen A thorough search of the
wreck failed to reveal any dead or in
jured. and it is believed that there
were no fatalities. although this will
not be certain until the thousands of
cans, piled in an indiscriminate heap,
have been removed and the fallen floor
of the storeroom raised.
occurs AT FORTUNATE TIME.
Had the accident occurred few
minutes earlier than it did, many of
the employees would have undoubtedly
lost their lives, as there would have
been more than fifty persons working
directly beneath the section of the
building occupied by the storeroom.
just before the floor collapsed nearly
all the women and a number of the
men had started to leave the building
for the noon hour and were already out
of reach of the danger. Had the women
and girls employed in the syrup de-
partment been at their usual places it
is probable that not one would have es-
capped alive from the death trap.
When the floor of the building went
down, carrying with 1T the stereroom
the supports of the roof were torn
away and the entire central section fell
into the building. wrecking the shaft
ing and crushing the machinery be-
meath. The interior of the syrup de-
partment is completely wrecked and is
filled with a mass of splintered timber
and debris. on which are heaped half
a million cans from the storeroom.
CAUSED BY BREAKING TIMBERs.
The accident was caused by the
breaking of the timbers which support
the main floor of the building The
structure is an old one. and the floor
and the timbers beneath are saturated
with moisture from tne syrup watts and
the packing tables. This condition had
probably resulted in the decay of the
timbers supporting the floor The tre-
mendous weight of the thousands of
cans in the storeroom finally became
too great, and, the joists giving way
precipitated the second floor and roof
of the building TO the ground.
superintendent d. Ceruti, who is in
charge of the Linden-street cannery, at
once summoned President William
Fries of the California Gamers Asso-
citation after the accident, and the lat
ter on his arrival assumed charge
of the work of clearing away the
wreck. Later r. l. Bentley. general
manager of the association, reached
the cannery and. directed the work of
placing temporary braces to support the
sagging roof. When asked the cause
of the collapse of the building Bentley
said:
The building is an old one and it is
probable that the floor of the storeroom
was overloaded. but in my opinion
f7fare was rAf annuch or, fba 4o,- -