The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1909-09-30
HUNDREDS RUSHING OUT IN PANIC,
FIFTY INJURED AND SEW
ERAL KILLED.
BUILDING is BADLY WRECKED.
Firemen and Policemen Searching Ruins
of Eight-Story Building for
the Victims
CAUSED BY AN ELECTRIC SPARK.

hfty persons were more or less seriously
injured and several are believed to have
met death shortly before noon today
when an explosion occurred in the offices
of the Columbian Film exchange, rooms
Ala and 415 Ferguson building, which
runs from Third to Fourth avenues, be-
tween Smithfeld and Wood streets.
The walls of the building, an eight
office escaped damage. Windows were
blown out and partitions blown down.
Several hundred fremen and policemen
are searching the ruins for injured and
lead.
The accident threw the down town,
district into great excitement Special
letachments of police were necessary to
clear from the streets thousands of per.
sons who for time were in imminent
danger of a second explosion.
Starts in the Vault.
John Jilletts, special clerk, made a
statement in which he said the explosion
occurred in the vault Jilletts said he
went into the vault, which is 3 feet wide
and feet high, TO get Il film. When he
turned the electric light on, a spark shot
from the switch and ignited one of the
hlms. lie jumped from the vault,
slammed the door and shouted to the
others to run. AS they reached the cor
ridor the explosion occurred. The dam
age will reach 100000.
Occupants of adjoining office buildings
:ushed to the scene and were joined with
in few minutes by tiremen and by
squads of police. Throughout the entire
eight-story building, the rescuers encoun-
tered men, women, boys and girls who
were either burned or injured by flying
debris.
Every Hospital Notified.
Every hospital in Greater Pittsburg
was notified. For over an hour the clang
of ambulance gOngs were heard III the
down town streets.
Twenty-Five Stenographers employed at
the offices of the Smith-Premier Type
writer company We're seriously cut by be-
ing showered with fragments of plate
glass windows.
Most of the injured are in a serious
condition. How many persons were EN-
DlOyed in the offices of the Columbian
Film company is not ascertainable at
this time. 1t is not thought that any
person in the two rooms could have eS-
capped death, 50 great was the force of
The explosion, but a partial search of the
dead.
Comes Without Warning.
The explosion came without warning.
In Il moment the entire building was
anveloped in Il binding sheet of flames.
The occupants of the building, number
ing many hundred, became panic-strick-
al and rushed wildly for an exit. They
became jammed on the stairways and
the screams of persons who were being
crushed could be heard i'll the streets,
causing much excitement among the
thousands who quickly congregated.
Many occupants Of the building
rushed to the doors of the elevators.
Fighting like demons, the crowds at the
elevators broke down the screen work
ancasing the shaft and pleaded with the
elevator boys to save them.
Roy Barclay, the elevator operator,
gave "A graphic description of the eX-
plosion He said:
Il was at the second floor when L
hear sizzling noise similar 70 the
fuse on a fire cracker burning. | knew
something was wrong and dropped the
car to the first floor to let the passengers
IF. Just as they were alighting, the
axplosion came and the building was
filed with flames. From all parts OF the
structure came shouts and | heard iot
Of people on the fourth foor crying Tor
The elevator. | ran my car UP there anu
found large crowd battling around tae
iron frame work of the elevator shafts;
Hundreds We're running uoWh tiie
stairways through the binding smoke
and dust from falling plaster. | damned
the ear full and started for the first toor.
When the car reached there we carried
most of the women out in an UNCONSCIOUS
condition.
Makes Trips in Flames.
Barclay was seriously burned but
made ten trips through the flames and
smoke before he would give up his car
and have his injuries attended TO.
John Miller, manager of the Columbian
Film company, was i'll a barber SHOP
when the explosion occurred. He hur-
ried to the scene, but was AT loss 10
account for the disaster. According to
Miller, there We're seven persons ON
ployed in the offices. As yet none Of
them have been accounted for
No Light in Office.
Il am very positive said Mr. Miller,
that the explosion was not attributable
To the films letting 90, as there was no
light in the office, and without the films
coming in contact with flame, they could
not explode.
He said there We're about nifty MINIS
in the office when he started LOT tue
barber shop and there were number OF
additional films III the office safe
The safe will be opened just rs soon
ms | can get man to do it, ne SAID.
''To guard against n second explosion.
( however. | will have tiremen standing by
with Il hose, i'll case there is fire
there"
| The seventh and eighth floors of the
| ferguson building are buged out dan
| gerously. For almost block on either
side of the building windows are shat
/