Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1911-03-31
FIVE F|REMEN ARR
PLUNGED TO DEATH
CATASTROPHE ATTENDS 81 AYE
IN BUSINESS DISTRICT OF
MILWAUKEE.
GO DOWN WHEN ROOF FAILS
Fifteen Others Who Were Fipbt;on
Flames from Top of Five. stora
Structure Have Miraculous Esca,n
All Are Severely Injured.

Milwaukee. Fire which broke on,
In the basement of the fvn-s4on,
Friend building, 354 Broadway oc-
cupied by the Middleton Manufacture
ing company, resulted in the deaths
of five fremen and injury to tiftnon
more, and a loss to the Middleton
company of $150,O0O.
The dead are:
Capt. Jacob Hentz, engine common.
No. 20.
Richard J. Burke, driver, engine
company No. 8.
Lieut.. John Houlahan, engine com.
pany No. 8.
Fred L. Eichhorn, truckman an.
CINE company No. IA.
Louis Hammond, driver of truck
company No. 5, sustained fracture
at the base Of his skull and died
after an operation.
Nineteen firemen, who had been de-
tailed to chop holes in the roof were
carried down to the basement sf the
building when the roof eayed in
Four were probably instantly killed
and only the barest luck saved ffteen
from a terrible death, when reof and
timbers from the floors fell ia sach
manner as to shield them from the
tons of falling debris. The fifteen
firemen were all severely injured.
The members of the two FIRE COM
panies stationed on the roof could be
seen by the thousands of persons
gathered in the rear of the building
just before the roof fell While the
firemen were unaware of their dan
ger, just before the roof caved in.
the crowd realized the peril, but its
shouts of warning were changed to
cries of horror as the calamity oc-
Cured. The struggling firemeH could
be seen for an instant only, and then
they disappeared.
The crash of the walls threw bricks
wide upon the firemen working near
Several were injured by these frag-
metns.
Led by Assistant Chief Young the
firemen entered the burning ruins
and tore away savagely at what they
then realized must be the funeral
pyre of their comrades. One after
another, they were overcome by the
heat and smoke, but as sooB as one
man was forced to seek fresh air an
other was there to take his place.
The blaze was discovered in the
basement of the building by w. c..
Middleton, president of the company.
Thirty men and thirty women en-
ployes were driven through rear win
dows to fire escapes and fire escape
landings by the smoke, and many OF
these were taken down ON ladders
thrown up as soon as the trucks ar
rived.
The employees were crowded en- the
platforms and they had scarcely left
through the windows before they
were completely enveloped in clouds
of dense black smoke. Two girls, III
their rush to escape, fell from the
second story to the ground. Their
injuries were not serious.
For time it appeared that the
flames would soon be gotten under
control, but the blaze appeared 10
reach more inflammable material IN
some part of the building and WIFE
rush, little short of an explosion, De-
gan to destroy the large structure
with almost indescribable rapidly
The burned building adjoins the
Adolph Landauer & Son wholesale
dry goods concern, which suffered
loss of $4,000 a few days previous
also the electrical supply plant VI
Julius Andrae & Sons company WIN"
was destroyed in a former IocdVio"
two months ago.
This city has suffered an unpFeCe-
denied number of disastrous n'02
within the past ten days, ain'H6
which are:
J. P. Lindeman, tinware fac1oi''
building burned; loss, $7O,O0S'
Hilty Lumber company; ya'sS
burned; loss, s150,OO0; ore fireman
lost life; property worth $2'V00'O"'
in valley menaced. ,,o
Adolph Landauer & Son; Vnioo
stores suffered loss of S7,50o' piop
erty worth $4,000 saved by quiz
action of department. "a
MINI Billiard factory; factory u
stroyed; property loss, $9o,Oeo; Loa,
lives lost; sixty people forced TO JUMP
from burning building.
Greve Show Print company p. ,;a.
erty loss, 100000; eighteen lam i.s.
driven from beds in early morhin9'
several narrow escapes.
Arthur Manager livery STABLE p,o ',f
erty loss, $4,000; forty horses SUI
located: six employees forced 10 JUMP