The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-06-14
Many Lives Sacrificed.
When Montreal Her
aid Building Collapses
HUNDREDS HAVE
NARROW ESCAPE
Structure Crushed by Falling
Tank, While Fire Adds It's
Horrors to Disaster-Upper
Floors Crowded With, Peo-
pie at Time Of Ac-
cident.

Montreal, Gne., juno 13.-Between
twenty and thirty people lost their
lives to-day when the supporter of
the SPRINKLER system tnnIS on the roof
OF the Herald building gave way and
the great mnss of metal and wntcr,
weighing thirty-fivc tons, went crash
Ing to the basement. Fire broke out
Immediately, adding its horrors to the
slIsnstcr.
The frenicn tIisplrTed splendid he
roism In rescutng Ncores OF people
from perilous positions on the totter-
Ing walls. Some of the wallis had to
coiue down before the work OF re-
covering the bodies could be smelly
attempted, and ID was not until nfter
o'clock this evening that the first
body, charred and nanEled beyond
recognition, was brought out,
All of those who escaped agree that
the first warning Of the impending dis
aster passed almost unnoticed There
was a slight creaking, then a little
more, somewhat more pronounced, but
1T was not until the ceiling plaster be-
gan to fall that a rush for the stair
way began.
Before any one reached it there oc-
Cured a final deafening crash and
then chaos. Some survivors TELL of
falling one and two floors before tie
awful crasi, died away and then they
found themselves able to crawl
through The tense dus, to 4 place Of
safety. The maioriiy sought safety
oy rushing 10 the front IT the build
ing. sacing Oh Victoria Square.
Parts OF Floors Hold.
Fortunately, ali the floors held for
about thirty 1eet back from the front
wall. and 10 fhie Is due the fact that
the death list does not run into tho
hundreds. as there were nearly 30N
people III The buiding al the time.
When the first hook aud ladder
company reached the scene, the fire.
men found the windows OF the upper
hoors crowded Nsth peopte, and the
crowd on rac si Balk urging them
not 10 lunIs- e3t on is,sa 49, Id
ders were quic.;ty placed IN position
and those In danger brough, TO the
ground
one ladder was hoisted, reaching to
the fourth floor. on which the bindery
windows. From one of these a little
girl crept along the coping until she
could reach the ladder.
Grasping a rung with one hand and
placing a foot on another. she lent
helping hand to eight other girls
twice her size. When all the girls
HAD reached the ladder and had been
brought down to safety she came down
alone, BY this time the tire had
started and smoke was pouring from
the front windows. The little CIR.
tainted when she reached the bottom
UI the ladder.
Taken From Ruins.
a dozen injured persons were taken
from The RUNS by the hremen, many
OF tnem with broken limbs. OF tncse
rescues, that OF Fred VIDAL, stereo-
typer. was the most daring. Hall an
hour after the riremen reached the
building Nidai was heard sroanins and
was located under siraer, from
which ne could not be oislodged. de-
spite the fact that the tlames We're
creeping perlIously near. three hre-
TO their task. In the crowd outside
was Father Martin. When he heard
of the fight against death he went
into the building ana administered
the last rites u the churen 10 the
emi-conscious man. Finally, however
the beam was cut through and Vidal
released, not a moment too soon. Both
his legs and some OF his ribs were
broken.
Entire stnH Escapes.
Every member. OF the editorial staff
escaped unharmed, their quarters being
in the front OF the building. John z.
Walsh, the editor OF the paper, and
the members of his staff We're rescued
from windows by hremen.
The fire started from the stereotyp-
ing department, the Goals FROM the
furnaces evidently being distributed on
the different tloors through which the
pots passed on LtlclH way w ltic boS
ment, for the fire appeared to start
almost simultaneously OIL all the lower
floors Later it broke out I'm the front
OF the building presumably from the
ignition OF the gas supply of the limo
type machines, which went through the
floors.
The cause of the disaster was the
breaking OF the supports of the tank
OF the sprinkler .syNtem. This tank
was located little TO the rear of the
centre of the building, which was an
old structure. remodeled for the pur-
poses of the newspaper and It's JOB
The building was valued at sl5o.ooo,
and was owned by the Herald Com
pany. while the valuation of the plant
Is placed at 100000.
Most of the plant Is hopelessly
wrecked. The insurance on the builds
Ing and plant totaled $4,000.
The Herald appeared this evening
as an elght-page paper, arrangements
having been made with the Gazette to
continue rs publication until new quar-
ters can be secured,
This is the sixth time in the last
thirty-two years that the Herald has
been burned ont.
Twenty injured We're treated at the
hospital. Some of them wars badly
injured, but 1t is believed none viii
die.