The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-09-03
Employe of the Light, Heat
& Power Company, Enters
Cellar of Purifying Plant
and Is Overcome.
A GALLANT RESCUER
HAD NARROW ESCAPE
Shorty" Hunter Gets Body
of His Comrade from Gas
Chamber, but He Nearly
Loses Life in the Act.

Alvin Ross Galyean, 1915 North H
street, was overcome by gas in the
cellar Of the purifying plant of the
Light, Heat and Power company, First
and Main streets. about 2:15 o'clock
yesterday afternoon and fifteen or
twenty minutes later he died
Floyd Hunter, 217 East Main street,
pulled the almost lifeless body of Gal
yean from the cellar after being in
formed by James Temple, Galyean's
helper, that the man was lying in the
corner. near a window. In carrying out
Galyean, Hunter, who is commonly
known as Shorty" was almost over
come, but was pulled from the cellar.
which at that time was hlled with gas,
by Charles Nagel, PIT Main street
Various stories are told as to how
the cellar became filled with gas. Cor
the employees at the plant, stated last
evening that in the reconstruction of
the purifying plant. what is known as
the hand-hold slate had not been
placed on an elbow on a large pipe
which communicates with a drill box
on the upper floor. The gas had been
turned into the pipe just a few min
lar, for the frst time since the recon.
struction began. The cellar was i'm
mediately filed with gas This was
about 2:15 O'Clock. as nearly as Coro-
ner Pierce could ascertain. A few min
utes after Galyean had gone to the cell
lar. Temple went to the basement to
shut the oil pump off. Temple did NOT
see Galyean in the basement and hur-
ried to the first floor of the room as
he was suffocating.
Coroner Pierce also states that
heart disease may have caused Gal.
yean's death.
Sees Galyean's Body.
Shortly afterward he realized that
Galyean was not about and that he
had gone to the cellar. He notified 9TH
er employees in the room and Temple
peered into window and saw Gal
CuA OOuy AyAh6 AZ q SOiACI VI IAC
cellar.
Without moments hesitation Hun
ter crawled in the cellar window and
running to the corner of the basement
he picked Galyean up and dragged
him to the window where employees on
the outside pulled Galyean up There
was just breath of life in the man,
h,xf Cnir Lo
After Galyean was removed Nagel
noticed that Hunter had not come
from the cellar and looking into the
basement he saw Hunter vainly striv-
ing to crawl up the wall to the out
side. Knowing that few seconds hes
itation on his part to call for help
probably would mean another death,
Nagel braced himself against the wall
and grabbed Hunter. With considera-
BILE effort, he was able to pull him to
fresh air. Within a short time Hunter
had recovered from the effects of the
gas.
Employees in the purifying room
were sickened from inhaling the
fumes. All were reticent in relating
facts in the case. One man declared
that the company was at fault in neg
lecting to place the hand-hold plate
on the pipe in the basement. When
asked if he believed the company was
at fault Coroner Pierce said that he
was not prepared to make statement
on the subject at this time.
Galyean had been working at the
gas plant for more than a year He
was we'll liked by his fellow employees.
He was forty-eight years OF age. He is
survived by his wife. and two brothers,
William and James. The funeral ar.
Irangements have not been announced
as yet.