The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1908-01-17
NUMBER Of DEAD
IS PLACED IT'D.
Terrible Less of Life as Result OF
Destruction of Opera House
at Boyertown, Pa.
AWFUL JAM ON STAlRWAYS
Weaker Ones Knocked Down in
Wild Scramble ard Many
Crushed to Death,
FLAMES SPREAD RAPIDLY

Fire overtak=s the Struggling Mass
Of Humanity Attempting to Reac;,
the Exits and Scores Perish Al
most in Sight Of Escape-Rescue cs
From the Outside Save a Few Peo-
pie but Are Quickly Forced to Aban-
don Others to Their Fate by the
Advancing Flames.
Boyertown, Pa, Jan. 1.-THE catas-
trophe resulting from the burning OF
the Rhoades Opera House continues
to grow in horror The list of dead is
placed at ITO and the injured at IS.
Exactly how many were killed may
never be known, for among the vic
TINS were a number Of visitors who
may have no relatives to trace their
u0rimely fate. One hundred and sixty
seven bodies have been recovered and
several persons are missing.
1t is estimated that there were 400
persons in the playhouse when the
explosion OF the gas tank occurred
The tank was being used in connec-
ton with pictures. An amateur per-
Torrance Of "ScOttish Reformation
for the benefit Of St. John Lutheran
Sunday school was being produced
INSTANTLY the explosion occurred some
one yelled fire" and in almost less
time than it takes to tell it the center
of the opera house was blazing fur
mace. The rapidity with which the
flames spread was caused by the up
setting OF the coal Oil lamps used as
the footlishts by some Of the persons
on the stage who endeavored to allay
the frightened children and quiet the
audience. But even the men seemed
to lose all control OF themselves and
fought with the women and children,
who composed the greater part of the
audience. to gain the street. In this
manner many women and children
who might otherwise have escaped
the flames were forced back and
1rampled upon. Particularly was this
the case of those who were caught on
the stairways. Pandemonium reigned
and the mad scramble for the exits is
simply indescribable. The weaker
ones were brushed aside and in many
Instances trampled TO DEATH Scores
OF persons on the second floor, seeing
the awful jam on the stairways, risked
their lives by jumping from the win
doWs. In this way several were SO
badly injured that they died before
reaching any OF the numerous TEN
porary hospitals.
Perish With Escape in Sight.
So rapidly did the flames spread
that many OF the audience were
caught and overcome before they
could reach the fire escapes The
frenzied people fought with each other
to reach the front entrance, the prin-
cipal means OF exit from the building,
and struggling mass OF humanity
was quickly piled around the doors
that led to the street. Flames over
took them and they were burned to
death almost in sight Of escape, A
number of people who were attracted
by the cries Of fire rushed from the
street to the opera house and up the
stairs to the second floor. They sue
ceeded in rescuing some, but were
forced to abandon the others to their
fate as the quickly advancing flames
drove them from the building
Boyertown is a town of about $500
persons and there is scarcely a house
In the little town that has not been
afflicted by the visitation of fire.
Physicians and nurses were also
sent to Boyertown from Reading and
aided materially in alternating the SUI
ferings Of the injured who had Ieaped
from the windows in their mad rush
to escape the flames
The work of removing the bodies
from the debris was unusually tedl-
GUS and hazardous When the rush
was at it's height the floor gave way,
precipitating many persons to the
basement and the bodies of these were
found buried beneath the charred
ttmbers and tons of brick from the
ruined walls. In addition to the opera
house and Farmers National bank, En-
hans hardware house and the dwell
fngs of George Rahm, Harry Penny
packer and Alfred Zashard were
burned The monetary loss will
snount to $4,000. RI
Fl the chief of the Pittstown fire de
partment, who investigated the cause
of the disaster, says the first rush
toward the stage was caused by sew
eral men and women becoming fright
ened when the hose connecting the
moving picture machine and the tank
supplying the light slipped of its CON
nectfon and made q kissing noise
The tank itself did not explode he
says. until a1tsr tho Games haA
rsachsd Z