The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1913-10-07
Boiler ExpIodes;;
Six Badly Injured
Wrecked Boiler Hurled Forty Rods
From Engine Near Springfield,
Men Barely Escape Death
ALL EXPECTED TO RECOVER
Boiler Was Inspected Last July; No
Possible Fault on Part of
Engineer
ALL EXPECTED TO RECOVER
The Injured

20, struck in face by piece of
iron, jaw broken, ear torn from
head, severe scalp wounds; con-
dition serious.
Chas. Wendt, terribly scalded
by escaping steam. Confined in
st. Johns hospital, condition
serious.
Armand Fimeyer, son of the
late Mr.. and Mrs. Albert Fimeyer,
of New Ulm, eyes scalded, and in
jured in face.
Otto Fimeyer, aged 4, brother
of Armand Fimeyer, scalded about
face, head and feet.
Carl Peterson, face scalded.
Henry Rosenau, shoulder in
jured.
Miraculous escape from instant and
terrible death was experienced, early
Tuesday morning, by threshing crew
on the farm of Adolph Trebisch,
about six miles from Springfield, when
a Is h. p. steam engine was totally
destroyed by an explosion. Pieces
of iron were strewn about the farm
yard and the escape of the crew hard
ly seemed possible. The engine was
owned by Ebert Meyer and Martin
Christensen and has been used for
fifteen years, having undergonen gov
ernment inspection last July. The in
jured,. although in several instances
seriously hurt, are expected to recover.
Drs- Rothcnburg and Schrader, of
Springfield, and DR.. Piper of Sanborn,
were called to the scene and dressed
the wernds Of The injured.
Boiler Thrown 40 Rods
The threshing rig was being oper-
ated in the barn yard. Two stacks
of grain had been threshed, and En-
gineer Arnold Ryan was engaged in
pulling the separator between the
two remaining stacks. The engine
was between the two stacks, around
which were standing the members of
the crew. Without warning the boil
er exploded, parts of the engine being
strewn about the yard, and the boiler
was blown into the air and over the
house and trees a distance of fully
forty rods, and then dropped to the
ground. The boiler was Strengthened
out so that it resembled huge piece
of battered sheetiron, and one could
scarcely imagine that it once served
the purpose of steam boiler.
The only members of the crew to
escape injury were, Engineer Ryan,
Kurt Nelson and Geo. Slatzen.
Thrown Against Stack
Adolph Trebisch, on whose farm
the accident occurred, and Kurt Mel
son, member of the crew, were near
the engine at the time, assisting in
holding the drive belt, but both es-
capped injury. They were thrown
against the stack, but escaped without
q scratch.
That Engineer Ryan was not SER
iously injured almost passes under
standing. He was at his post of
duty on the engine when the crash
came and the wrecked hulk of the
engine gives evidence that he must
have been in the very midst of the
flying pieces Of iron.
The tank man, Geo. Slatzen, was
in the act Of placing wooden blocks
under the drive wheels Of the engine
to prevent them from slipping in
the mud, but despite his close prox-
unity to the explosion he also escaped
serious injury.
To Make Investigation
Ebert Meyer, who has been with
his machine almost constantly since
it was started up, states that his engi-
neer was competent in every respect
and he does not attach the slightest
blame to him, but he does feel that the
blame may be laid to the inspector.
However, the State Inspector will
have an expert on the grounds imme-
diately to make close investigation,
and it is then possible that the blame
will be placed where it rightfully be-
longs.-Brown County Journal