The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-06-06
-FOUR KILLED,
MANY INJURED
ON TENNESSEE
Boiler Tube Bursts While at
Sea, Hurting Iron in
Every Direction.
ACCIDENT ON FLAGSHIP
OF ADMIRAL SEBREE
CRUISER GOING AT FULL SPEED
WHEN THE TERRIFIC Elk.
PLoSloN OCCURRED.


San Pedro, Cal. June 5.-A terrible acct
dent occurred on board the United States
armored cruiser Tennessee at Hos this
morning while the ship was steaming at
nineteen knots on a speed trial off PORT
ttueEene, Cal, steam pine in the star
board engine room bursting under 335
pounds pressure, killing four men and in
JuIlng ten others-all of the men in the
compartment at the time. The explosion
the cause or which is unknown. occurred
only few minutes after Admiral ITrieI
Sebree. Captain f. b. Howard, and Chief
I-usliieer Rooertson had left the engine
room on tour of inspection. Four of
the men were killed instantly. and two
OF the injured are expected to die to-
night.
Dead.
George Wood, water tender, Scranton.
Pa.
E c. Boggs, second, class fireman
WOOdlaWn, Ala.
A. Reinhold. machinists mate. second
class, Germany.
George W. Meek fireman, first class,
Skldmore, Kan.
Slightly Injured.
S Stematis. first class fireman. Nor
fOlk Va.
F. 5. Maxfeld. second class fireman.
Iughkena, Chester county. Pa
ID. J. Burns. coal passeT. New York.
~ Walter S. Burns, coal passer. Brooklyn.
n. /.
J. F. A. Carroll. fireman, second class,
Hartford, Conn.
Fatally Injured.
F& ". Watson fireman, second class,
East 81. Louis. III.
r. +. Rutledge, coal passer. Athens. Pa.
ton, o.
A HAYES. water tender. Brooklyn, n Y.
n Fitzpatrick, fireman, first class,
Brooklyn n Y.
There We're fourteen men in the fire
room when the tube, which is four inches
IN diameter, and enclosed with water in
side the boiler, blew out. driving a tor
rent of scalding steam. coal dust. cinders
and hot ashes through the ash pit and
shoWering the half-naked men.
General Alarm Sounded.
A blast Of white steam from the venti |
lators told those on deck of the accident
son, the navigator, instantly sounded a /
general alarm, and, dropping twenty lines
OF hose ready for instant use il case of |
fire. Within the doomed fire room No
amidships, on the starboard side which |
IS one of the sixteen enclosed fire COM
partments, the surviving seamen were
fighting for life. Reinhold and Meek were
stricken dead at their posts. BOggs and
Wood craWled or were dragged into the
adjoining fire room. No IL and died al |
most Immediately. The surviving seamen
all of whom received some injuries. acted |
with the greatest herOism in aiding their |
unfortunate mates.
Sebree Barely Escaped.
Rear Admiral Sebree himself ESCAPED
death or serious injury in the fated fire |
pit by mere moments time. He had left |
the room where the explosion occurred not |
fifty seconds before the fatal blast The
admiral stood in the engine room adjOin- |
ing the fire room with Chief Engineer |
Robertson and Captain Howard. His first /
inuimauOn of the tragedy was as he |
mounted the ladder and a half-naked fire |
man leaped past him suffering from Sc
we're scalds.
When the smoke came from the fire |
room, the fire call was sounded, and all |
the crew went 10 their stations In perfect /
order and in q few seconds fifteen to /
twenty lines of hose We're ready TO turn 1
on the fire. Several Of the crew be- /
haved with herOism and will be reported /
10 the department later when full par
ticulars are known.
The ship was undergoing inspection by J
the commander OF the second division, !
and had been under way for over two |
hours. the engines. boilers and all ma
chinery working perfectly, fully equal 10 /
the acceptance trial
On Speed Trial.
The Tennessee. flagship of the second di- |
vision of the Pacific cruiser fleet, left 4
Santa Barbara at 10 O'Clock this morning /
with the cruisers Pennsylvania, washing
ton. Colorado and West Virginia in her 4
wake on the semi-annual official speed /
trial provided for by naval regulations. /
Admiral Sebree had ordered the cruisers /
To- fun speed and the Tennessee had just 1
concluded a series of eVOlutiOns and start /
ed straight ahead at a speed of between !
and nineteen knots. The admit /
raj in the engine room had just taken /
note that the dial recorded a steam pres /
sure of 235 pounds when the explosion Oc- |
CURED. Less than fifteen minutes earlier /
the tubes had endured a pressure of 265 /
pounds thirty pounds greater. An Off |
cial investigation of the accident has /
been ordered.
The boiler was of the standard tubular 1
kind. the Babcock & Wilcox make, used /
on many of the Warships. II consists of /
a large cluster of fOur-inch tubes. carry /
ing water into the main boiler. only one 1
tube. and this one of the bottom tier, ex-
ploded The break was less than six /
inches in length.
There was no ~reellage. but the explo- /
Continued on Page 7.