Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1909-10-29
GREAT POWER PLANT IS WRECKED
WHEN FOUR BOILERS ARE
BLOWN TO PIECES.
ONE VICTIM is NEAR DEATH.
Firemen Work Among Ruins Seeking
Bodies-Draw Fires from Boilers
Which Escaped Injury.
PLANT TO BE RUN BY ELECTRICITY

MILWAUKEE, Wis, Oct. %, 1909
sIoUoq uol-oaIF InoJ 10 uo!soIdx9 9qL
in the plant of the Pabst Brewing COM
panys plant at Tenth and Chestnut
streets shortly after o'clock this morn
ing resulted in the death of Frederick
Stirn, fireman who lived at 800 Thirty
ninth street, the dangerous injury OF
Gottlieb Yehnert, another fireman, and
loss of more than 100000 which is
only partially covered by insurance.
Building Is Wrecked.
The explosion, which was of terrific
power, completely wrecked the boiler
rooms Of the plant, hurled one of the
big iron boilers fully sixty feet across
Tenth street and onto the roof of an
other building and showed the elevator
building, which adjoins the wrecked
boiler room four feet to the south almost
causing that structure to topple over. 1t
is believed that the explosion was caused
by low water in the boilers.
Two Men in Building.
Only two persons were in the building
at the time of the accident. Of these.
Yehnert is at the Emergency hospital,
while thirty fremen are tunneling into
small hope is held out for the recovery
of the body until late this afternoon as
the mass of splintered wood and iron
is piled highest over the spot where the
body is supposed to be hidden.
Windows Are Shattered.
So terrific was the explosion that not
window in the whole district was left
unbroken and three fremen under the
care of Herman Grande who slept in an
adjoining building were thrown from
their cots to the floor. These three fire
men were the first persons to arrive on
the scene after the accident. They found
1enhert lying helplessly against the side
of the building on the opposite side OF
the street and dangerously hurt. He
had been bodily blown from the doorway
of the wrecked building and only by
miracle his life was not snuffed out by
the falling iron and timberS.
Boilers Are Ruined.
The exploded boilers were split from
end to end along the main seam. They
were bent and twisted into an almost I'M
recognizable. mass. Three of the boilers
are still buried under the wreckage.
None of them will be put into commits
sion again. The boilers were of 100
pound pressure and 4O0-horsepower.
That the south wall of the wrecked
building was left standing after the
explosion is regarded as remarkable, in
asmuch as the boilers were nearer that
side of the building.
Seventy Men at Work.
immediately after the accident Chief
Clancy rushed thirty hremen to the
scene and a short time later the Pabst
company reinforced the city force by
ANOTHER detachment of forty men. The
seventy men have been at work on the
wrecked building since one hour after
the accident, under the direction of Chief
Clancy and Col. Gustav Pabst. Col
Pabst reached the ruined plant soon
after the accident and gave out the
statement that the damage would amount
to more than 100000, and the loss is
only partially covered by insurance.
According to Fire Chief Clancy, there
were eight boilers in the building at the
time of the explosion. All of them were
new, having been installed about a year
ago. They were hast inspected on Oc-
tober 8. when they were pronounced safe.
An insurance of $150,OOO was carried on
the boilers in the Hartford Steam Boil
er Insurance company.
Low Water May Be Cause.
Although he refused to make any def,
Unite declaration covering the point Chief
Engineer Glassman of the Pabst plant
said that he was of the opinion that the
explosion must have been caused by low
watH" in the boilers. If this is true it
means carelessness on the part of both
the victims.
Yenhert's escape from death is thought
to be due to the fact that he was just
outside the wrecked building when the
explosion occurred. However the man
has not been able to give out a state
ment.
Big Building Crumbles.
The building that was demolished was
located at about the middle of the block
on Tenth street between. Chestnut and
Winnebago streets. 1t was situated be-
pany on the south side and the old boiler
house now used as a storage house, on
the north.
From the appearance of the ruins the
structure simply crumbled in by the
explosion and was hurled, a mass of
bricks. timber and iron, out into Tenth
street. Flying bricks from the explo-
sion were thrown through windows of
adjoining buildings tearing off the plas-
ter therein.
Statement by Col Pabst.
In statement given out today shortly
before noon, COL Pabst said: "I think
that the damage will go as high as $780,
coo, though l can make no positive state
ment. 1t will take us a week to find
out accurately what the loss is We hope
to be able to put the plant in operation
Tuesday, though l doubt it. This de-
ponds entirely upon whether or not we
are able to have electricity in the plant
by that time.
The loss is only partially covered by
insurance. / don't remember just how
much of it"
Mime. Theirs Pearls