Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-06-27

in years took place tnlS morning II the yards of the Holmes, Booth & Haydens factory, outheastern section. which is now owned by the American Brass assoctatlon As a result O. the catastrophe three men lost their lives, partly by being overcome by oil gas and then after being made unconscious by the deadly fumes, falling into vat and being drowned in about four feet of mixture of oil and water. The men that are dead are Eugene Rowley, aged 45, of Mill Plain; Frederick Scott, aged 33, of Cottage place, and Dennis Sullivan. aged 22, of South street. A fourth man, Wilmot L. Babcock, was partly overcome, but was later brought to consciousness and his condition is not now serious.
 It was about 9 o'clock this morn- ing when John Lawson, who Is one of the pipers working in the yard of the old Holmes. Booth & Haydens property over near Washington ave- nue, noticed oil dripping out of one of the tanks on which he and fel- low workman by the name of Der nard Sharkey were laboring. He and Sharkey jumped into the hole in which were the big oil tanks and put plug in the pipe which was leak ing. Meanwhile he notified Acting Chief Engineer Rowley of the west mill of the leak in the pipe and Row. ley immediately hastened to see what was the cause of the accident.
 About fifty feet from the oil tanks mentioned above was another tank which was being filled with oil from one of the Standard fuel oil cars The tank was in the ground and was covered by network of boards, the only entrance into the vat being by trap doors. When Rowley heard that the tanks were leaking he knew that the tank fifty feet away must have something to do with it, as all three tanks were connected with pipes Rowley. immediately hastened to this vat and raising the trap door went down into the hole by means of a ladder. He knew that the trouble must be there and thought that by shutting of a valve which was part ly submerged by water because oi the recent rain storms that the oll would stop leaking in the tank which Lawson first told him about. But the fuel oil which was being emptied in to tanks has deadly odor and often the men are. suffocated unless very careful. According to the opinion held by the officers of the company and all his fellow workmen Rowley while attempting to shut of thin valve. was overcome by the gas com ing from the fuel oil. At the end oI the oil tank there Is space abou' six feet wide and about fifteen fee' deep. This was filled for couple o feet by oil which had flowed iron the tank and by water from the re ! cent rain storm. It is believed tha after Rowley was overcome by gal he fell backwards into this mixture and was drowned.
 Meanwhile. 1t is said that Scott who is assistant engineer and gen eral utility man in the mill. seeint that Rowley had gone down, gave th' alarm and also went down after hin | to see if he could aid his partner. l seems that the oil fuel was very thici | in the vat by the time that Scott hat arrived in the hole and 1t Is tn supposition that Scott was quickl. overcome and fell into the mixtur' of oil and water. landing near tn body of Rowley.
 When the alarm had been givel that there was man down in tn hole Denis Sullivan. who Is a piper was about the yard. He immediatel. hastened to the vat and withou waiting to put rope around nj body went down in the vat and it ! supposed that he had gone no nor than Ave or six feet when he droppe' with his companion.
 Many wondered how Babcock. wh is foreman for the Waterbury Bras Goods corporation. came to be i
 with the three other men who ar employees of the old Holmes. Boctl & Haydens departments. It is state that Babcock first saw Rowley go in to the hole and hurried back to tn office to give the alarm.
 Help was immediately summone and fin a very few minutes the var was full of employees who had rushe lfrom their work. When Babcoc came back to the hole he was fiI' labout to 20 down. in fact had prs lceeded a few feet. without a ror around his body. when W. S. NJ Keavney told him to come from "a hole. Babcock came up from ID vat and after adjusting rope to h body he was then lei down. Tt ma he imagined how deadly the gas v.
 when Babcock was not down mnI than five feet. when he had to 2 pulled up. and even then he wt partly overcome by the gas comir from the oil fuel
 Rv this time the men had sfarts Ito tear the boards oz the top of tt lyat and the gss which gushed fort
 vas almost sufocating. Ropes ve' quickly brought into use and aft, lthe gas had passed of men vei lowered and the task of bringing q
 bodies from the hole vas beEsn- vss d terrible sight to see Rovl' lfrst brought out limp as . rag Sec lvas hsxt to be brought ffom q
 hole, and fast twenty minutes att 10 the form of Sullivan vss placed lthe boards br the side of his tS lconpanicns-
 Phyuzciars ~ers sunnoned sI lDrs cravea- Dxrer and Thib<- lsrrived in c skort uns. but th