The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-21

explosion came followed immediately by a flare of flame. To me the explosion seemed to come from everywhere around The sound it is impossible to describe I could only recall like flash an incl dent of many years ago, when I was in Johannesburg, at the beginning of the Boer war and heard the explosion of 400 tons of dynamite-the largest amount of dyna- mite ever exploded at one time-when a trainload of explosive went up In one crash.
 The air was full of debris almost in- simultaneously and the crash of falling timbers, collapsing buildings and break ing glass continued like an echo of the first crash for at least seven or eight minutes. The great flash of flame had it's result, too, in sparks which filled the sky for many minutes as far as the eye could reach. The atmosphere became im- mediately heavy with the smell of gas and the faces of the people in the buildings turned dull, sickly yellow. The air, too, was yellow, not the gray yellow of a London fog, but peculiar, deathlike yell low sombre, lustreless, heavy, which eyes and nostrils alike resented.
 brushed the sparks off my clothes and felt of myself to find out whether 1 was injured. People whom I discerned here and there through the haze were all, as was I, half dazed.
 AAAl RCIoOLD LIN OEhHlCE
 T was impressed into a volunteer am- bulance corps, and we were rushed off into the heart of the district where the explosion had done it's worst damage Fire brigades kept arriving in a seem lngly intending procession from different parts of London and from these we ob- tained few necessities to assist us in our rescue work. This was carried out in houses and cottages on the fringe of the wrecked area. Fragments of factory machinery weighing tons were found a half-mile mile and even a mile and quarter from the factory. Three houses were flattened into mass of kindling wood and here we took up our heart rending work
 There were wounded who had been dug out of the debris while others were found seriously injured lying uncovered and helpless in streets gardens and open places Flames from the burning build- ings, which grew brighter as time went on, gave us a fair light through the pail of smoke, fog and dust There was a paucity of ambulance facilities for a time but this was remedied before the night was well advanced, and we deyel- oped a system.
 'The surprising thing was the large number of persons whose injuries at first appeared to be serious, owing to the fact that they were dazed and suffering from species of shell shot, but who later responded to our first aid attempts and walked off fairly sound, with bandaged arm or head, to assist in the relief work.
 WORKED ALL NIGHT
 The fire was under control about mid night but the work of the relief force continued until dawn, when-the volunteers were replaced sby the military and Red Cross workers"
 The Central News agency says
 ''The detonation was such that miles around were rocked with it's force, while over that area there was a great de- struction of window glass. Fires broke out involving large flour mill and other industrial concerns, while many houses also were enveloped in flames
 "Firemen, policemen, soldiers and am- bulance workers rushed to the scene. The authorities requisitioned motor pusses and other vehicles on the streets.
 Terrible scenes were witnessed when the flour mill, which was seven stories high, burst into flames. To get such blaze under control was an impossi- bility so reluctantly the firemen were obliged to devote their efforts to sav- ing neighboring property. Despite all their efforts, the flames rapidly spread over a large area.
 I1cIOlC uurSeS, dfnDuldnC6 men, Boy Scouts and Girl Guides worked to alle- viate the sufferings of the injured One youth returned home from work to find that his parents house had vanished in the great upheaval. He found his way to hospital and was able to identify the unconscious form of his mother. In mcrtuary he found the bodies of his father and sister. There were hundreds who sought relatives and friends in vain'
 The Evening Standard says:
 'The minor effects were serious. Here and there there were rushes of women to places of shelter and theatre attendances were in some degree affected"
 The Pail Mall Gazette says:
 'The explosion brings the realities of war to the very hearthside of this coun- try. Let us remember the victims have given their lives in their country's cause as honorably as if they had fallen in a charge over the top"
 There was no loss of American life or property as the result of the explosions last night so far as had been ascertained this evening.
 COAL CAR SHORTAGE