Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1910-09-14
FIRE ON BATTLEsH|P
DREA0N0UGHT NORTH DAKOTA
SCENE OF ACCIDENT.
OFF VIRGINIA.
SECOND FIRE ON BIG WAR DOG
Explosion Of Fuel Oil the Caase.-
Chief Lieutenant Is Among in
jured-9laze Soon Put
Out,

Fort Monroe, Virginia. 49, On the;
dreadnought North Dakota, when
about twelve miles from Old Point in
loved Chesapeake bay, an explosion
of fuel oil and an ensuing fire cost the
lives of three men and more or less
serious injuries to nine others, includ-
ing Chief Lieut.. Grin G. Mu1phin.
The Dead.
Joseph w. Schmidt coal passer; en-
listed at New York, October Is, 1909.
Robert Gilmore, coal passer, enlist
ed at Newport, r. l., JAM. 1910.
Joseph Strait, coal passer; enlisted
at Grand Rapids, Mich, June, 1907.
The Injured.
Chief Machinist E. W. Andrews, New
York; Machini:st T. C. NcDonough,
Brooklyn; Charles C. Roberts, machin-
lists mate, enlisted at Norfolk, Va;
Sebastian J. Wittwer, fireman, enlisted
at Philadelphia; James A. Brady, fire.
man, enlisted at New York; Leo F..
Piorek, fireman, enlisted at Chicago;
John G. Morrison, fireman, enlisted at
Boston; Fred P. Kinney, fireman, en-
listed at Mare Island, California.
Rear Admiral Seaton Schroeder.
commanding the Atlantic fleet made
the following statement of the acci-
dent:
Between 1920 and 1900 o'clock
in the morning oil from room No. 3 in
the North Dakota caught fire. Under
request from the commander of the
North Dakota the commander-in-chief
of the fleet Immediately ordered the
North Dakota to leave the fleet forma-
ton. No assistance was necessary.
and by 1880 o'clock the fire on the
North Dakota was under control.
ut has not yet been ascertained
how the fire started, although it is be-
lieved the disaster was not due to
any carelessness of the men on the
North Dakota. A board of inquiry
was named to investigate the acct
dent, consisting of Capt. C. A. Gore,
OF the Delaware, senior officer; Lieut..
Commander C. V. Price of the Della
ware, and Lieut.. Commander A. NJ.
Proctor Of the Connecticut. This
board will thoroughly look into the
cause of the explosion
All Expected 20 Recover.
"The injured men are all expected
to recover. Chief Lieutenant Grin C.
Murphin was in the fire room at the
time of the accident and was burned.
but not seriously.
"The cOmmander-in-chief, immedi-
ately upon the anchoring of the squad
ron, proceeded on the supply tender
Yankton to the North Dakota to per-
sonally attend the operations The
fire was completely under control be-
fore he arrived, and after ascertain
ing as many facts as possible he re-
turned to the Connecticut in Hampton
Roads.
"The North Dakota, shortly after
the accident, anchored a. Thimble
Shoal light house. The wounded men,
who are severely, but not seriously,
burned, were removed from the North
Dakota to the hospital ship Solace."
The North Dakota had a fire once
before since she was launched in No
vember, 1907. That was on the 18th
of last May at the Boston navy yard
when a red hot rivet dropped into
ground cork in one of the after-maga-
zines, while the ship was in dry dock
for alteration. The fire was quickly
extinguished. The North Dakota's
magazines are lined with cork, sheat-
ed inside.
Capt. Albert Gleaves, who COM
mands the North Dakota, is Tennes-
seean, who formerly commanded the
st. Louis and was until recently naval
aid to Assistant Secretary Winthrop
of the navy department. He has had
81 years naval service including 10
years at sea.