Los Angeles herald., 1908-07-04
EXPLOSION; PANIC;
z DEAD; 30 HURT
FIREWORKS BLOW UP IN FIVE
CENT STORE
CLEVELAND Is SCENE OF TER
RI5LE ACCIDENT
Shopper and Clerks In Mad Rush for
the Exits TrampIe Children
Under Their
Feet

By Associated Press.
CLEVELAND, Ohio, July s.-Seven
persons were killed, at least two others
were fatally injured and fully thirty
more were severely hurt as the result
of fire in S. S. Kregs scent store
on Ontario street today.
Following is list of the dead:
EMMA Schumacher, Is, floor
walker.
MARIE WAGNER, II, clerk.
ANNA TREFALL, "a, clerk
tRIDA TREFALL, clerk, aged II.
ELIzABETH 2. REEFS, II. clerk.
MARY HUGHES, 81, shopper.
JAMES L. PARKER, aged 4.
The fire followed an explosion OF
fireworks on display in the store. Opin-
ions differ as to the exact cause of the
explosion. A woman who was at the
fireworks counter said the stock was
ignited by sparks from device which
was being demonstrated to her by
clerk.
Fire Chief Wallace and the store
manager were of the opinion that the
pieces were ignited by an arc light.
Immediately following the explosion
an alarm was sounded and a panic
seized the hundreds of clerks and shop
pers. A mad rush was made for the
doors and windows. Many jumped
from the second and third floor win
dows.
The store, which Is located near the
busiest corner in the downtown dis
trict, was well filled with shoppers,
mostly women and children. Practi-
cally all of the clerks were young girls.
Although the explosion Of the fireworks
caused CONSERVATION the real panic did
not occur until someone shouted Fire"
For an instant a hush came over the
crowd. Then women screamed, some
tainted and sudden fear overcame them,
Panic Results
Crazed by the possibility of injury
or DEATH all on the main floor rushed
for the front and rear DOORS Quickly
they were damned in the front door
way. During the jam those who had
attempted to escape by the rear door
were blocked in their passage. The
back door was too small for all who
sought safety there, and the rear win
dows were closed with iron bars. Those
who could not escape in this direction
turned to the front door.
While practically everyone on the
main floor was able to leave without
injury through the main door, 1t was
mainly because of the jam at that door
that the seven unfortunate ones lost
their lives. Two of the clerks, seeing
no possibility of immediate escape at
the front door, ran to the basement.
The basement windows also were
barred with iron and their return to
the main floor was cut off by the APP
proach of the flames.
The other women, again forced to the
rear of the store by the approaching
flames, finally sought safety under a
counter, where their bodies were found
two hours after the explosion. The five
women had been suffocated. Tho sew
enth victim, the 4-year-old son of Mrs.
George Parker, was knocked to the
floor during the first panic. There he
lay unconscious and trampled upon
until suffocated by the smoke.
Panic on, Other Floors
While the next panic upon the main
floor was In progress the flames from
the fireworks counters rapidly adj
vanced to other parts of the store. The
smoke and fire were whirled UP the
stairways to the second and third
floors. The frenzied crowds of clerks
and shoppers who were endeavoring to
find a means Of escape by way of the
stairs were frustrated by the suffocat-
ing smoke. The elevator made several
trips during the first few minutes of
the fire and took many to the main
floor.
Hundreds of persons were near or in
front of the store at the time of the
explosion. Terrified shoppers rushed
out of the front door to the sidewalk.
Women and girls appeared in the upper
windows shouting and pleading for
help. Men upon the sidewalk told them
to wait until the firemen arrived with
their ladders. Hysterical with the
fright that was upon them. some did
not wait but hurled themselves to the
sidewalk. In this manner many were
severely injured. When one or two had
thus faced death, 1t stampeded the
others on the upper window lodges, and
they, too, followed.