The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1909-07-08
KIECKHEFER FACTORY DESTROYED
IN FIERCE BLAZE STARTING
IN THE BASEMENT.
EMPLOYEES IN WILD SCRAM Bill {.
Constantinos Ganos Loses Life After
Working but Two Days-Body Is
Charred Beyond Recognition.
FAMILY STILL LIVE IN GREECE.

the Kicckhefcr plant all night were re-
warded early this morning with the dis
! covery Of body, charred almost be-
! yond recognition but believed to be that
| of Constantnos Ganos, the only cmploye
of the company who has not yet been ac-
counted for.
! According to John Zonkos who, with
| some fellow Greeks. called at the morgue
this morning to view the body, Ganos
had worked in the kieckhefer plant only
two days, having been employed there
as sawyer last Tuesday. He is sur.
| viyed by a wife, two children and a
grandmother all of whom are still in
! Greece and as yet unaware that the
! husband and father, whom they were
! planning 10 join soon in the new country,
! lies dead in that same new country,
| mangled and burned beyond recognition,
Ganos lived at 545 East Water street,
in company with several fellow country
| men.
Fire Is Disastrous.
The Kicckhefer Box company's pant,
South Canal and Sixteenth street, lies
today mass of charred ruins. Fire that
originated in the basement wiped out the
three great buildings early Wednesday
night.
The blaze called out the entire fire
fighting force Of Milwaukee. Practically
every available piece of apparatus was
fastened into the MenOmOnee valley
when the third alarm was sounded.
Prior to the sounding of that alarm the
kicckhefer plant had witnessed one of
the widest fire panics of recent years.
When smoke began to spread through
the Kieckhefcr buildings shortly after
5:1J O'Clock every employe was at work.
About $50 Of the persons employed III
the building are boys under 20 years of
age. Upon them rolled the smoke
waves Above the clatter Of machinery
they heard the cracklc of flame and the
roar of heat in the buildings shafts. The
fire apparently gained great Roadway
in the basement. 1t was tn undiscuv-
cred until it broke suddenly through the
floors.
\ call of FIRE" halted work in the en-,
tire plant. For moment POO men seemed
paralyzod. Then they broke in mad
panic, for the exits.
Escape Down Chutes.
Some made for the doors; the first of
them escaped, then the flying mass
Of men iammcd in the exits and battled
there. More fled toward the window
Some leapcd upon the crowds below.
But the windows, too, became blocked
with men and cgreSS there was impossible.
Then the steel chutes, down which boxes
had been dropped for shipping, were
made use Of They proved excellent fire
escapes. Probably "A hundred boys made
their way from the furnace of flame in
this way.
The tanning of the panic stricken
men WITHIN the buildings was OF put mo-
nohtafS IUrau"u' liaFdly hau the Jams
formed about door and window than
foremen sprang into the mobs They
beat back their men; they forced them
asundcr until cgrcss was possible. They
forced those at upper windows down
stairways. In this way the buildings
We're cleared with the loss Of but a
single life.
Injuries sustained by employees were
the results Of mad leaps from the win
dows. Those thus hurt were;
Byron Fullerton, aged 40 years. $50
Twenty seventh street, lcaped from the
second story compound fracture of the
rsnt reg ,,,.,..,,,. $1,000, ,.. -,
t""' m,,I e., "N'T - S'a'S, 81 nGaat
tbronGb nom"s. burpc% abont Go,d ', nncL
face and arms.
Charles Wnkcl. 10 years old, 1850 IIolton
street, foreman nj the plant. Lcapcd from
second story, lrfi leg broken; taken to
M VI, hospl '" a., ,,,,.... L., ,,. -,
Ntn,,i #? ,,,, ~, " ,"'o''r' 'f'
,Io,,,. or,oI,,.o.. ,,.,,.,, rnri,..I :, ,.a
Mh"S J"p, ,I ~ " , ~ ulS''i III lIr
burned Injured fremcn include:
Arnold Struyig. aged % years, 1i07 Con.
ter street plpcman No, 2o' overcome 10y
sm2kr. ,.,,. -, %, no.
o.' i,r NJ on nr @''
Hr', u,'oi,r P'p''"'' ~ ~ o''''o''e
Edward Bergen. aged 80 wears G32 Mad
ison street; plpcman No 20; bruised
Edward IaUghlin, aged % years, ISL
Scott street; engine company No. 20; over
com" ~ n'"'
Inc ihJuFeu were 'Irn'tn W 'h' EiI'r-
Scncy hoHpNa! ana an VIII recover.
Loss on NE pant WIN amount TO
about SL"o",' iullN covered ny IlSuf-
aahr". ! ne rSilil,I'' Is lh9r "i irGSlu'ht
Robert - NI'ckh'I'r' ne buildings,
constructor III 'hrro s'rtlohS' were NV
ieGt IN I"hElh ana l3o i'Gt IN Winth.
Adjoining pAhLa, particularly the oiilceS
81 the Nc!nrrrht ~ oiSoI company ana
| me SHOPS OF me HchWab ~ Nrueger ana
! SrhW4b ~ ANDERSON companies, were