The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1910-12-30
KILLED
IN CHICAGO
Chief Koran Among Victims of
Falling Canopy.
BIG BLAzE Al THE sTOCKYARDs
Horan Predicted just such a Catas-
trophe Only Twelve Hours Before
He Perished-Morris & Co.'s New
Beef House Destroyed BY Blaze
Explosion Causes Structure To
Crumble.

| Chicago Especially Fire Marshal
James Koran and 80 of his comrades
gave up their lives in a. disaster here
Thursday that the veteran fire fight
er had feared for years. stock
yards holocaust.
just IL hours after the fire chief
had warned the Council Committee
on Buildings that more fre-fghting
appliances were at once needed at
the stockyards he had been trapped
| and two entire companies Of firemen
had been wiped out in just such. a
fire as he had predicted.
Fifteen flremen were seriously in
jured, including two captains, who
may die.
The flames completely destroyed
the new beef house of the Morris &
Co. plant at the yards, spread to sew
eral smaller structures and for hours
threatened to sweep the entire
yards. Property was destroyed ag-
gregating nearly 100000.
Crippled by the loss of their leader
and the greatest loss of life in the
fire department since the cold-stor-
age tower disaster of Worlds Fair
times, the firemen fought on the en-
tire day and into the night, finally
checking the spread of the flames. ),
Killed Without Warning.
The firemen with Chief Koran in
their midst were killed without a
moments warning while endeavoring
to reach the seat of the fire in the
blazing structure. There was an ex-
plosion, but it was not of an am
monia tank. as at first supposed. The
explosion was declared to have been
due to the expansion of the cold
atmosphere in the alright cold
storage house.
The list of dead includes the chief,
the assistant chief, 2 captains, s
lieutenants, .13 city firemen, 2 private
firemen and railroad employee.
Like Iroquois Disaster.
Not since the days following the
Iroquois Theatre tragedy, which,
like the disaster of today, was a
holiday time horror, have such
pathetic scenes attended a fire in
Chicago
The bodies of victims were taken
to undertaking rooms on West
Forty-third street, near the fire.
Widows and children of the dead
men. white-faced and frantic, crowd
ed into the place. The bodies were
so badly mutilated in most cases
that the police would not permit
relatives to view them. In several
instances women struggled with po-
licemen in attempts to see their dead.
Mayor Busse, greatly affected by
the death of Chief Koran, called
special meeting of the City Council.
which convened late in the afternoon.
A committee of Is Aldermen was
selected to take charge of relief work
for the families of the dead and to
make funeral arrangements.
At the same time meeting of
business men was held at the Chi
cago Club, at which it was agreed
that $15O,000 should be raised for
the widows and orphans. Pledges of
$4,000 were received in few min
-utes. Theatre managers also prepar-
ed to hold benefit performances.
The building in which the fire
started was four-story brick struc-
ture and covered an area bounded on
the east by LOOMS street. on the
west by Bishop street and on the
north and south by Forty-third and
Forty-fourth streets.