The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1910-12-30
"a FIREMEN DIE IN
STOCK YARDS FIRE
Chicago Fire Chief and As
SiStant Chief Victims.

Twenty-four firemen lost their lives
at Chicago in a big fire which de-
stroyed the packing plant of Nelson
Morris & Co., at the Union stockyards
here. The dead include Fire Marshal
James Koran, Second Assistant Mar
shall William J. Burroughs, Capt. Den
mis- Boyle, Capt P. e. Collins, Lieut..
James d. Fitzgerald, twenty other city
.fremen and five employees of the stock
yards. Scores of others were more or
less seriously injured.
The thirty men killed in the fire
were crushed to death when the east
wall fell, carrying down upon them
tons of bricks, timbers and iron work
ard a heavy wooden canopy under
which they had been standing.
Scores of other tiremen were injured
and some are dying in the hospitals.
The fire was the greatest disaster
in the history of the Chicago fire de-
partment, and the worst horror in Chi
cago since the Iroquois fire, seven
years ago.
Terrific explosions of ammonia in
the beef cold storage section of the
building sent a heavy canopy crash
ing down on the squad of firemen who
were working on loading platform.
The fatalities all occurred in one
place on the loading platform. Fol
lowing this more alarms were sent in
until 100 streams of water were poured
On the blaze.
Away up in the roof of the structure,
near a point directly over the loading
platform on which stood Fire Chief
Koran, Burroughs, his assistant, Lieut..
Fitzgerald and a score of others, there
was a sudden sharp, loud report. Por-
lions of the masonry of the building
fell away and large part Of this fell
on the canopy, tearing it away and
bearing it to the platform, which was
crushed like an egg shell with it's hui
man freight.
Immediately afterward huge flames
sprang up and the buried men had no
chance for their lives.
Scores of firemen rushed to the
rescue but were driven back by the
intense heat and the deadly fumes of
the ammonia. One after another was
overcome and fell to the ground. Mean
while the walls fell on the various
sides of the building and buried fire.
men who were near
The building that was destroyed
was the principal beef house of the
Morris plant. 1t adjoined on the
south the building In which are the
main Offices of the company and was
the largest of the Morris group of
structures. 1t was six stories high.
Scenes of pathos occurred when rel
atives of the victims reached the scene
of the disaster. Many had been noti-
fed by telephone by friends, and upon
arriving at the stock yards pushed
their way through the crowds of curl
Gus spectators to the smoldering pile
where the bodies of the dead firemen
were buried
Funerals of the victims of the stock
yards fire was begun Saturday and
continued until Tuesday, when the
UOu1OS VI tue ldSC VI Cu0 CW0uIy -lUuT
men killed by the falling wall were
laid away.
Three of the funerals, including that
Of Assistant Chief Burroughs, passed
through crowds making ready for
Christmas Nine more were held Sun
day. Eleven of the heroes, including
CHER Koran, were carried to their
graves Monday.
While all Chicago felt it's bereave-
ment as soon as the results of the fire
were heralded, its true meaning came
home to thousands of citizens who
watched the slow professions of the
first funerals, marked by long rows of
uniforms and of carriages filled with
men known in public life Almost
every section of the city saw at
least one cortege of similar nature.
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