The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-06-14
AtLeastTenBurned tODeath
in Blaze That Destroyed
Grain Elevator
PROPERTY DAMAGE
ESTIMATED AT $4,000, 600
Cause Believed to be Spontaneous Com
bustion Although Workmen Say
Bomb Was Responsible - Many In
jured and in Hospitals.

BALTIMORE, June IA. -- At least
ten men were killed, nearly - were in
jured, more than So ,000,0 600 in property
was destroyed and the grain industry
of Baltimore received a severe blow
Yesterday afternoon when No elevator
of the Northern Central railway and
the big ore pier at Canton were burned.
Two steamships and several sehooners
were damaged.
Estimates of the actual loss of life
vary. From best authorities it seems
certain that ten men were burned to
death in the grain elevator itself or
died i'll leaps of from 100 to 80 feet to
the pier and water.
Officials say the fire was caused by
spontaneous combustion due to the
rapid handling of the grain. This
creates a dust which generates gas.
Men at work in the meighhorhood insist
it was Il bomb that caused the trouble,
Is the explosion blew out a side Of
the wall on the fourth floor and I'M
mediatelv afterward flames shot out Of
the upper windows.
Tt was reported in the early part Of
the fire that 40 trimmers working on
the upper floors of the elevator had
been lost but most of these men cs-
capped. A boy of Is years saved their
lives by dashing through Il wall Of fire
to shut off q grain shute, through
which a stream Of flame was entering
the floor. The boy was badly burned.
| hut with other members Of the gang
was able to reach a lower floor before
| the flames cut them off. They were
! forced to leap from windows into the
| harbor, whore they were rescued by
boats
Two steamers were loading at the
| time the fire broke out. They were the
British steamer Walsbeck Han, having
! aboard 100000 bushels Of oats, and the
| Dutch steamer Van Driel SIR. with oats
| in her hold valued at $4,000. The
! English boat was pulled off while on
| fire, but the Van Driel was held by a
steel cable and it was not until the
/ flames were veercd away from the
point of connection that the firemen
could get near enough to cut her away
/ Part of the elevator wall fell on her
deck and smashed the upper part. Near
" all Of the grain was destroyed by
| fire and water.
The elevator, which is total loss,
| was valued at about 100000, VI lie
| grain dryers, of which the superstruc-
lures burned was damaged to the tx
tent of about 100000. The grain loss
is about 81 100000. The grain in he
DRYERS, about 100000 bushels in all,
and 1000 gallons Of gasolene in an ad-
Joining structure. are believed to have
been saved.
The ore pier, 700 feet long. which
was burned, represents a loss of prob
ably $2500
Most of the hospitals in the central
and eastern sections Of the city lad
their quota of injured. As far as known
30 were more or less injured and some
. of them are expected to de.
Twenty men were saved by
benjamin Morsham, captain of The
- Ferry company. He ran his boat in
and gathered up those who jumped
, from windows, He made three trips
$ picking up eight on the last
Charles J. Nix, two of whose ccm-
s., panions were burned to death. saved
l his life by making leap from the bin
! floor to the fire escape.
This is the third time the grain Gle
. vator has burned. 1t was destroyed
t in 1890, when two lives were lost, an(
t again i'll 1902.