The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1920-05-04
COLLAPSE OF BUILDING
KILLED 2 IN BURLINGTON
Floors Caved in and Walls Fell Out at
w. c. Hoag & Co. Toy Shop--Gar-
age Nearby Was Crushed.

Burlington, May 1.-Two people wer'
killed and four were injured yesterday
by the collapse of a three-story brici
building at the corner of st. Paul ant
King streets, which was used by tn
w. G. Hoag & Co toy shop. When th'
building fell, it smashed the Ideal gar
age building and did other damage, th'
total financial loss being estimated al
$50, 1000.
The dead are:
Thomas j. Stanley, agent for th'
Prudential Life Insurance company o.
AIS Colchester avenue.
Philip X. Moriarty, s years OF age
son of Mr.. and Mrs. John Morlarty o.
1877 Pearl street.
The injured:
Mrs. Fred Davis, North street, IN
juries to the head.
John Moriarty, brother Of Philip, Sc
riously injured about the head.
Harold Butler, 45l St. Paul street
badly cut and bruised.
George Mc0uen, fireman, Pine place
severe injuries TO leg.
The noise and dust of the first col
lapse of q floor gave the appearance o.
an explosion, so still alarm was sem
TO fire station No l, after which gen
eral alarm was rung in. A second crasf
came about 10 minutes after the first
and all the firemen were in or about
the building.
Joseph Gagnon and Captain Ashline
who had rescued Mrs. Davis, went bach
to look for others. They were on th'
second floor when the walls began tt
sway. Ashline got out, but Gagnor
struck his head against something al
he was going down the stairs and wa
only semi conscious. He could not SCI
where to 20, and lay down beside Z
pile of wreckage which had fallen The
first time. There he stayed while th'
roof and walls caped in and afterwards
got out uniujured.
Chief Stockwell, Deputy Chief Carty
Charles Ouimette and Thomas Finne
ran were near the stairway. When thu
building began to come down arount
them they tried for the door, but couie
not get through that, as 1t was blocked
They herded together in one OF th'
southern corners and waited for any
thing that might come, but nothing
happened and they got through un
harmed.
On the second floor Jean Fortune o
station one WAS confined to the souti
end with all means of escape cut of
except to jump. He waited calmly unit
the fremen could get ladder up t
him, and got down safely.
On st Paul street, where two were
killed, pandemonium reigned. Th'
street was filled with people, fire ap
paratus and, in the building, in view
of the spectators, were George McCuen
Bert Mills and Albert Brocbney, where
with J. l.. Vetters, they had been a.
the work of rescue. The people on thu
sidewalk could see the roof topplint
over their heads, and inside the build
inc the lumber and goadS~eeuid be seei
falling. through. The crowd yelled warn
ings. and the rescuers started to rur
for IL. Most of them got through
first story window Netters, Brockne,
and Mills reached place OF safety, buf
the tons of bricks and timbers struch
Shanlev, partially burying him
knocked McCuen's legs out from undel
him and buried Butler.
The horses on the fire truck becam'
frightened and the crowd became panic
stricken. Someone yelled. Look on
for live wires" and the scramble wa
all the worse. The great weight OF thu
roof and walls snapped off two tele
phone poles az though they were
matches. and the high-tension wire
were left dangling a few feet from th'
ground The great crash made nols'
like that of an explosion. No one coulC
see Just what was happening. on ne
count of the dust and flying dirt.
The big LaFrance truck from station
one was buried beneath a load Of brick
II was here that little Philip MoriartS
was killed. and IL was not until som'
time later that he was discovered un
derneath the wreckage. Stanley wa
killed on the sidewalk as he tried e
lice. As soon as possible men from th'
electric light department. the New Eng
land Telephone company, and the Bur
lingtou Light & Power Go. were OF
the scene and looked after the wires.
Reports of an explosion were circu
lated about the city. hut no one in tb'
building had any evidence Of such
thing. The caase of the accident Is be
lieyed to be that of faulty structure
The mortar seemed 10 have no clmginl
powers and when the bricks fell they
were entirely clean. The hrcmen II
clearing away the debris had no diff
Guilty in pushing over the walls, which
were Of three thicknesses Of brick
w. C. Hoag said that the opinion o.
some was that one Of the supporting
piers was weak. He said that ther'
was no unusual load on the uppei
floors. He had recently installed
blower system but could not see how
that in any way affected the building
He said that there was no one buried
under the wreekage. unless Il was som'
outsider. The help was all accounted
for. and the only one seriously huri
was Mrs. Davis.
Thomas J. Stanley was 2s years olC
and j. survived by three sisters. Mrs
John HAYS Of Winooski and Mrs. JOIN
Cassidy Of Bellows Falls. and Mis-
Elizabeth Shanley Of this city; ais
By three brothers. John /. STANLEY o.
ths CITY. Georrf J Of Springfield