Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1921-03-19

UljA1 KUU1 fIhE hEh[
COST FIVE LIVES
Will Collapses As Back Draft
Wrecks Building.
Thousands Watch Firefighters Bat
tic for Hours to Prevent FLAMES
Spreading.
March Ia. --F'ive men, including
four or the oity's flromcn were killed
yesterday AFTERNOON in fighting one
of the most. disastrous fires i'll the
history of Richmond as thousands
watched. Two or more bodies are be
lievcd to be in the still smoking ruins
of tho Hopkins Furniture Store, 20
West Broad street. Six injured are
in hospitals, some OF whom are seri
ously mlrt.
A "back draft" is crditcd as the
cause OF an explosion which wrecked
tho walls of the Jurgens. dcmol1sh
ing the building Of the Hopkins furn
iturc store at Adams and Broad
streets.
More than q score were injured,
six of whom were in hospitals last
night. The cause Of the fire, which
was discovered on the third floor Of
the Jurgens building at 1895 o'clock
yesterday afternoon has not been de
termincd. The damage is estimated
at, between $350000 and 100000. Tho
fire wtls not gotten under control un
til after s o'clock last night and ut 10
p. M. firemcn were stiM fighting the
flames and fire lines still prevailed.
WILL PROB HOLOCRAUST
Colonel William M. Meyers, Direc.
Tor Of Public Safety last night appoint
ed a commission OF four experts to
investigate the caying In Of the roof
of tho Hopkins building which car
ricd down about fifteen firemen, five
POSSIBLY seven to death, and to fix, IL
possible the responsibility for the
fatalities
Building Inspector John e. Butler
will conduct the investigation arI
other members of the commission ap
pointed by Colonel Myers include J.
Ambler Johnson, Chief Of Fire Do
partmcnt Joynes and A. A. Van veel
of tho J. IT. Wilson Construction Com
pany. The committee meets at Adams
and Broad streets ut $3.50 o'clock
this morning to start the investigate
ion.:
All six Of the injured in hospitals
are firemcn from Companies No. |
ana NO. 2. BESIDES these, who were
the most severely injured, u number
OF firemen were knocked out by fly
ing bricks when the top Of the wall
on the Jurgens building fell, several
were temporarily put out of the fight
by smoke and minor injuries.
nhe first alarm was followed by
the second at 1887 o'clock by a third
at 1910 and II general call for the
entire fire department at 12:45.
FireHlen had just carried a line of
hose 40 the top of the Jurgens build
ing and had been compelled to do
seend because of lack Of pressure
whom tho explosion occurred. Had
they remained on top Of the doomed
bdt'dlng five ~ "a es longer the en
tire company would have been tossed
into the raging furnace beneath.
Volunteer civilians, working with
crowIbars to pick holes In the walls
separating the two buildings so that
hose could be played on the flames
and firemon preparing to separate
these streams Of water were the men
WHO were caught and carried down
when the explosion occurred.
The Hopkins, building is q four.
story brick, standing next the Jurgen's
building, which is six stories and
when the wall Of the taller struc-
ture fen its weight broke through
the roof carried down floor after
floor and sunk through the main
floor into the cellar. Some of the
Men who We're caught on thn roof
were carried only to The third floor
where they lodged on shelf which
did mob break away near the front Of
the building, only the rear part of
the second floor gave way. The main
floor went through with the weight
only the solid earth supporting the
basement floor stopping the tons and
tons of brick, mortar, great beams
and furniture which dhc avalanche
gathered i'm its course.
Captain Rogers of a Fulton Com
pany aged 72, was one of the firemen
caught OH the roof. He fell to the
third floor and was wedged between
1.-TWO beams and covered with brick
and morton, comrades dug him out
before flames sprang up below. 9th
crs escaped from the second floor
while all Of tho men killed were
buried in the cellar.
jennie r. Passadag was the only
fireman who fell all the way to the
first floor who escaped alive. He was
partly buried beneath the wreckage
and was discovered by Thomas Bow
ry, city electrician inspector and on
Ger G. j. Browning of the traffic
squad.
Despite the fact that flames were
springing up from the wreckage these
men refused to leave Pas5adage who
was pinned beneath beam with a