Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1908-01-23
Explosion of Gas Tank Sets
Theater Ablaze; Audience
Is Trapped.
WOMEN sTRUGGLEFoRLlFE
Ae%artrendins Scenes in e%oyertown Beg
gar All Observation-Disclosures Fam
lies Wiped Out in Few
Moments.

isoyertown, Pa, Jan. 16-When
nightfali put Il stop to the work of re-
covering the dead from the ILL OF
the Rhoades opera house, where Mon-
day nights holocaust occurred. n Of
GriaI roll of victims numbered 1871.
Whether any more bodies are buried
beneath the ruins can not positively
be stated. but it is the belief Of those
who had charge OF the grewsome work
that all of the dead hav been removed
n that the total list of victims Will
not go above ITO.
Tho ratio of wonen n girls to men
II boys is 0 nine to one.
Entire Town Is Mourning.
The inhabitants of the little borough
Il. tho Berks county hills are stepped
ia grief. The calamity is terrible when
Vt is realized that the population OF
the place is about $500. 1t Is SAFE TO
Ray that everybody in the place either
lost one or more relatives or IA IN
tirnately acquainted with those who
dice in the fire.
In several cases whole families were
wiped out. If ever a community was
truly in mourning it Is the substantial
town of BOyertOwn tonight.
Difficult Work for Reseuers.
The morning was bitter cold. and by
The time the benumbed and
nrcmcn began the task of dissentan-
Cling the mass of burned beams and
twisted iron the entire ruins were
coated with ice and there was danger
ut the walls falling. h work went
slowly at first and it was hours be-
fore the first body was revealed.
Coroner Strasser. of Reading. who
reached the scene shortly after mid
night Monday night. had n detail of
men ready to tag the bodies and keep
. record of the description of every
.orpsc recovered The bodies were
SO badly burned. however. that there
was little to describe them by. and 1T
is safe to say that not half of the
victims will eve he identified.
Fire Under Control Today.
The fire was not brought under con-
troll until early this morning. after as
sistance arrived from Reading ana
Pottstown. Physicians and nurses also
were sent to I3oyertown o Reading
and aided materially in alternating the
xufTertngs of the injured.
Early today about 80 menlbt RS OF t.he
state conStabulary stationed In this dis.
trict came from Reading on Il special
train.
The work of removing the bodies from
the debris will be unusually tedious and
hazardous. When the rush WAS at its
height a floor gave Il preciptatnis
many persons to the basement and
many bodies are buried beneath
uharred timbers and tons of brick from
the ruined walls.
Royertown is a town of about $500
persons. near Reading. Scarcely =
house in the little town is not afflicted
Sunday School Benefit.
Four hundred persons were crowd
Ell into the playhouse to witness AZ
amateur performance of The Scott!sl
Reformation" given for the benefit OF
st. John Lutheran Sunday school
l-- ,-py. Yt.sn:,yf
The fire was started by an explosion
of a gas tank being used to display PIE
lures with IL calcium light.
When the explosion occurred. some
one yelled fire and almost in les:
time than it takes to tell 1t the center
If he opera house was a blaZinS fmf
mace. The rapidity with which th'
flames spread was caused by the up
setting of coal oil lamps used as foot
lights by some persons on the stage
WhO en%deavored to allay the fright
ened children and quiet the audience.
Even men seemed to lose all contro
Of themselves and fought with womei
and children who composed n create
part OF the audience, to gain the street
In this many women M chill
dren who might otherwise have es
capped the flames were forced back ant
tran pied upon. Pandemonium reigne,
and the mad scramble for exits is sim
uiy understandable. The weaker one
we're brushed aside n in many in
stances were trampled to death.
Jump From Windows.
Scores Of persons on the second foo
Meing the awful jam on the stairway
risled their lives by jumping from tn
windows. In this way several wer
badly injured and die before reachin,
any of the numerous temporary hos
pitfalls.
The scene cannot be portrayed ft
tingly by the Imagination. The bloc
curdling cries for help of those VIII
were penned within the walls of blaz
ing structure could be heard above tn
roaring, seething flames. 1t eemed a
though nearly the entire audience mad
Q mad rush for the exits the momen
the explosion occurred.
In their attempt to quiet the grea
crowd those persons who were on tn
stage accidently upset the coal o
lamps used as the f%oOtlights.
The burning oil scattered in all diret
lions and the lamps which were use
to light the opera house exploded
throwing the blazing oil over " terrC
stricken people who were fighting fraI
tically to gain the exits.
Floor coiIapses.
In the mad rush a section Of the foo
gave way. precipitating scores Of pc
sons to theb basement. AS the floor co
iapsed the shrieks of the helpless pc
SONS who were carried down were hear
for blocks.
1t was scarcely Ave minutes from Il
time of the explosion OF the tanks UNI
the entire heart of the structul
eeer.ed a roaring urnace. There W;
@ ma scramble for the stairway lea,
ing from the balcony and scores
women and children were knockl
down and trampled upon many o. the
doubtless t,eing crushed to death.
At least 20 persons. realistng that q