New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-10-22
Staten Island Shrouded in Night
Following Bursting of Power
House Boilers - Six
Dead, Four Hurt.
ALL TROLLEY CARS STOPPED
Tons of Steel Hurtled Into the
Kill van Kull, Causing Huge
Wave-Thousands of Com
muters Forced to Walk
Miles to Homes.

All Of Staten Island was covered with
a mantle of darkness few minutes
after > o'clock yesterday afternoon,
when an explosion wrecked the plant
Of the Richmond Light and Railroad
Company, at Livingston. killing six
men and injuring four others, one OF
whom will die. partly emptied boiler
in the main power house is believed to
have been responsible for the explosion.
A list of the dead follows
BERINEzETO. Patrick. fireman. Rosebank;
head blown on.
| GIIGAN. Edward 30, lsborer. Ocean Terrace.
| Concord. Staten Island.
, GUTEN Philip. 81. fireman, Ocean Terrace
/ Concord. Staten Island.
| HANNAH Francis. engineer, No. p Ennis
street Port Richmond.
! SULLIVAN, Daniel. fireman. Rosebank.
Unidentified man. believed to be laborer whose
! body was so BADLY mutilated AZ to make
Identification practically impossible
! The injured:
I lRELrICAZDO. Rocco. laborer No. q South
street West Brighton badly scalded about
I entire BODY VIII ole
! CARLIN. Michael. foreman, No. e72 Carey ave
nue. West Brighton. head. face and body
! scaded and burned.
1 DINDOLI Tony. aborer No. - South street
West Brighton, scalded and burned on head
/ face and legs.
| SCHWERZANO Nunzio laborer. No II south
street. scalds and burns
All the injured were taken TO st.
! Vincent's Hospital. None Of them was
in condition TO tell any details Of the
| accident.
The bodies OF the dead men were or
dered taken to an undertaking estab-
lshmert in Broadway, West Brighton.
Search Ruins in Darkness.
Ambulances from the S. r. Smith In
firmary and ST. Vincents Hospital re-
sponded to emergency calls, and the
surgeons worked hurricdly over the in
| jured. Owing to the darkness sur
rounding the wiecked power house 1t
was extremely di q cult 10 drag out the
dead and wounded from the ruins.
The wrecked building was the main
power plant Of the company. which.
besides supplying light 10 all Of Staten
/ Island. furnishes the power for the
streetcar lines on the island. Follow
/ ing the explosion all the trolley cars
stopped running. leaving thousands OF
passengers stranded. some OF them
miles from home.
Officials OF the company. when asked
by the police. said they did not know
the names Of the dead and injured. nor
did they profess to know what caused
the explosion. All the victims were
employees Of the company. Coroner
Jackson started an investigation, say
ing he would get sufficient evidence TO
place the responsibility in the proper
quarter The District Attorneys office
will also inquire into the accident.
There were two separate and distinct
explosions, the first occurring at ex-
actly 5lJ o'clock and the second fol-
lowing a second or two later 1t was
said last night that small boiler In
the northern section Of the building,
which faces on Richmond Terrace.
Davis avenue. Bard avenue and the
XIII van Kull. was more than half
emptied Of water which caused the ex-
plosion.
Boiler Blown Through Roof.
Persons walking in the vicinity OF the
power plant heard a deafening noise,
Immediately followed by crash Of
glass and falling brick. as the boiler
was sent hurting through the roof,
tearing a gaping hole and landing In
the waters of the XIII van Kull.
Before the mass of twisted steel plate
had settled beneath the waters the
main boiler in the central section OF the
building blew up with detonation that
was heard for miles. The tons Of steel
were blown through the eastern wall,
carrying away twenty feet Of brick and
stone masonry and causing a huge
wave when they landed in the Kill van
Kull
The blowing up of the boilers and
the consequent paralyzing of all cleo
trio power had startling effect all
over Staten Island. Hundreds Of troll
lev cars. loaded with more than 1900
messengers on their way from work,
stopped abruptly, plunged into dark
ness. All the electric lights on the
highways and at railway stations and
terminals suddenly blinked and went
out. The island was without light. ex-
cept here and there where gas was
called into use. or where old-fashioned
Ioil lamps and candles were requisi-
toned.
This blotting out Of the light re-
doubled the work and danger OF those
who we're getting out the bodies Of the
dead and injured. Police and firemen
had TO grope about in the maze of
Iyreckage. and II was several hours be-
fore all the bodies were found.
II was announced late last night that
no trolley cars will run until this morn
ing and that the electric lighting would
Inrobably be cut of commission for a
greater period.
MANY of the stalled passengers were
able to avail themselves OF the steam
railroad. But thousands who live In
the interior OF the island were COM
pelled to walk miles 10 their homes or
indulge in the luxury Of automobiles
and carriages.