Los Angeles herald., 1908-09-09
6 FIRFMEN AND
GIRL MANNED BY
EXPLODING GAS
TERRIFIC SHOCK WRECKS IN
SIDE OF BUILDING
ACCIDENT DUE TO CARELESS
NESS is BELIEF
Employees of Gas Company Declared
to Have Been NeeIlsent-As Re-
suit Heroic Men Fighting
Blaze Are Injured
THE INJURED

| THE INJURED
Captain G. s. Jenkins, engine company No.
| Z; severe burns on right hand and slight
burns about the face.
| Lieutenant b. w. Trowbridge, engine COM
pany No. I; right hand badly cut.
j. II. Perlin, hOseman, engine company
No. Z; overcome by gas and burned about
| face and neck
| L. f. HarcOurt, hoseman, engine company
No. 4; badly burned about face, eyes and
neck. Eyesight not impaired.
Charles S. Land, hOseman, engine company
| No 10; entire face, neck, hands and arms
badly burned; hair and eyebrows singed
Thomas A. stembridge, hoseman, engine
company No. I; badly burned about entire
| face, and both hands and arms
Mildred Vejar, IL years old, of 2514 South
Main street, thrown from sidewalk Into mid
die Of street by force of explosion; back
bruised, sprained and bruised about face and
body.
TX firemen had a narrow escape
IN from death yesterday afternoon
~ when an explosion of gas at the
building at Twenty-eighth and Main
streets hurled them from the doorway
of the entrance to 1928 South Main
the men into the street, shattered sew
eral of the large plate glass windows
in the building, ripped up a section
of stairway and tore a great quantity
of plaster from the walls and ceilings
of the building. That the men escaped
a horrible death is marvellous.
| Occupants of the building believe the
explosion was due to the negligence of
employees of one of the local gas COM
panies 1t seems that two workmen
| -. IL n
stalling meters, as the occupants of
the building desired to change the serv-
ice from one company to the other.
The men were working by the light
of a candle, it is said, and in some un-
known manner the candle was over
turned and set fire to some rubbish
that was scattered around the floor of
the basement. Then, it seems, the
workmen became frightened and
rushed to the upper floor to notify the
fire department and have it extin-
guish the fire. In their haste to seek
safety, it is claimed, they omitted to
turn off the gas, which penetrated
every nook and corner of the cellar,
escaped upward beneath the walls and
floors and had thoroughly distributed
itself about the building.
Call Fire Department
The two employees rushed to the near
est telephone and notified the fire de-
partment, and engine companies Nos.
Z and 10 responded with chemical en-
gines and soon eXtinguished the flames
in the basement. After all signs of
the fire had disappeared the peculiar
heat arising from the floor and open
ings to the cellar caused the firemen
to make further Investigations.
A hole was chopped in the floor just
within the entrance to the stairway
leading to the apartments above,
| oh a w a
men intended to lower it in the aper-
ture to examine the lower floor. No
sooner had the lantern been taken into
the narrow hallway than terrific ex-
plosion occurred and the men were
violently hurled into the street.
Mildred Vejar, aged IL, living with
: her parents at 2514 South Main street,
was passing along the sidewalk and
was not quite opposite the hallway
when the explosion roared forth. She
was hurled clear of a water trough
standing on the curb and landed ten
or twelve feet in the street. She was
bruised about the body and her back
severely sprained.
The firemen quickly rushed to the aid
!. of their stricken comrades. Perlin was
the most seriously injured. The force
of the explosion caused a quantity Of
gas to rush into his lungs and in addi-
ton to being severely bruised he was
nearly asphyxiated and lay as If dead.
Harcourt Land and Stembridge We're
painfully burned about the hands, face,
neck and arms, and suffered intense
pain while waiting for medical aid.
Rushed in Auto to Hospital
The University substation was noti-
fled and the automobile patrol was
| hurried to the scene of the accident and
the men were placed in 1t and hurrled
to the receiving hospital. The other
injured were lifted on the chemical
engines and rushed to the receiving
hospital, the patrol and fire equipment
arriving there at about the same time.
The men were tenderly taken in and
laid on the couches and on the floor,
, there not being enough operating ta-
bles to accommodate all.
Police Surgeons Quint and Wright,
assisted by Police Nurse John Morgan,
, attended the fire fighters and in COM
paratively short time had the men
, bandaged up and their sufferings allie
waited.
Captain Jenkins and Lieutenant
Trowbridge were the last to be taken
to the hospital They remained at the
scene of the explosion until they were
satisfied that there could be no more
danger from the gas and then allowed
themselves to be taken to the hospital.
The building in which the explosion
occurred is a three-Story brick Struc-
ture owned by Fred Espe of 4425 South
| main street. The ground floor IS dl-
vided into store quarters, No. 2721 being
occupied by ]. Hokom, who conducts
plumbing business; No. 272S. the en-
trance to the upstairs, which is occu-
pied by Dr. A. H. Kirby, dentist, and
| is fitted up as an apartment house;
| No. 2725 Is vacant, and the corner Is
filled with a stock of wines and liquors
belonging to the National Wine and
Liquor company. This place has been
closed since the fight on liquor dealers
in that section, but the stock of goods
| had not been removed.
So terrific was the force of the shock
that the plaster in almost every room
of the building was torn from the walls
| and ceilings and scattered about the
| floors.
The entire third floor and portion
| of the second are occupied by Mrs E.
| e. Kettrey, who conducts an apart
| nlent house. The furniture and fur
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