The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1908-06-09

Men Were Showered With scaldinu
Steam and Hot Ashes - Survivors
Showed Great Heroism - Admiral
sebree Had Narrow Escape.
San Pedro. Cal. June "a terrible
accident occurred on board the United
States armOred cruiser Tennessee
while the ship was steaming at nine.
teen knots on a speed trial of Point
Hucnene. Cal. when a steam pipe In
the starboard engine room burst un-
der 235 pounds pressure. killing four
men and injuring ten others. all the
men in the compartment at the time.
The explosion. the cause of which is
unknown, occurred only a few minutes
after Admiral Uriel Sobree. Captain
r. b. Howard and Chief Engineer Rob
ertson had left the engine room on a
tour OF inspection. The dead are:
George Wood, water tender. Scran-
ton. Pa.
r. G. Boggs. second class fireman.
Woodlawn. Ala.
\. Rheinhold. machinist's mate. sec
ond class. Germany
George W. Meek. first class fireman.
Skidmore. Kan.
Fatally injured: 5. s Stematis. first
class fireman Norfolk. va; +. : Max
field. second class fireman. Toughken-
anon. Chester county. Pa.
Seriously injured: +. J. Burns. coal
passer. New York: Walter s. Burns.
coal passer, Brooklyn: J. p. a. Car.
roll. second class fireman. Hartford.
Conn.
Slightly injured r. W. Watson. sec
| und class fireman. East ST Louis. H.:
X. L. Rutledge. coal passer. Athens.
Pa; G. NJ Corns. fireman. second
class. lronton. o.; \ Hayes. water
tender. Brooklyn. y. Y. and H. Fitz-
patrick. fireman. first class. Brooklyn.
y. Y.
There were fourteen men in the fire.
| room when the tube. which Is four
inches in diameter and inclosed with
water inside the boiler. blew out driv.
ing torrent OF scalding steam. coal
dust cinders and hot ashes through
the ash pit and showered the half
naked men.
A blast of white steam from the ven
tilators told those on deck Of the accI-
dent. and Lieutenant Commander $ :.
Robinson. the navigator. instantly
sounded a general alarm and dropped
twenty lines of hose ready for instant
use in case Of fire.
Within the doomed hreroOm the sur
viving seamen were lighting for life.
Rheinhold and Meek were stricken
dead at their posts. Boggs and Wees
crawled into the adjoining 1ireroom.
No. II, and died almost Immediately.
The surviving seamen. all of whom
suffered some injuries. acted with the
greatest heroism In aiding their unfor-
tunate mates.
Rear Admiral Sebree himself es-
capped death OF serious injury in the
fated fire pit by a narrow margin. He
had left the room where the explo-
sion occurred not fifty seconds before
the fatal blast. The admiral stood in
the engine room. adjoining the fire
room, with Chief Engineer Robertson
and Captain Howard. His first intima-
ton of the tragedy was as lac mounted
the ladder and a half-naked nremaT
leaped past him, suffering from severe
scalds.
When the smoke came from the fire
room the IRE call was sounded and all
the crew went to their stations in per
feet order. and in few seconds fifteen
TO twenty lines of hose were ready to
turn on the FIRE. Several OF the crew
behaved with heroism and will be re.
ported to the department later when
full particulars are known.
There was no wreckage. but the ex,
plosion was described by the surviv-
ors as frightful. so great was the
blast of SCOT and steam that every
man in the room was blackened from
head to foot. while those closest to the
break were cooked alive. The dead
and injured we're blackened almost be-
yond recognition.
An official Investigation of the acci-
dent has been ordered.