The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-09-06
FATAL FIRE
IN pITTSBURC
RAILROAD YARD

House w as DeSLIOy-
ed by Unexplained
Fire
Pittsburg, Sept. 9 (By the Asso-
cia1ed Press).-Seven car repair
men recently employed were burn
ed to death; ten men were injured,
several severely. and property loss
of $4,000 was wrought by fire
which started at dawn today in a
bunk house in the Thirtieth street
yards of the Pennsylvania railroad
and swept through the building
with almost incredible speed.
Nearly all the bodies were char
red beyond recognition.
The corpse of J. F. Carr Of Balti-
more was positively identified,
however. Railway officials made a
cheek of all employees living in
the bunk house and gave cut a
list Of six missing.
Search Of the wreckage failed to
reveal an eighth body. Railway
representatives said it was possible
that one of the missing men failed
to report after he had fled from
the blazing bunk house. The most
seriously injured when hurt when
they jumped from the second story
of che bunk house.
Investigations Immediately We're
started by the railroad, the police
and fire departments and by the
department of justice. They We're
in progress tonight. with announce
ment by the railroad that it had
been unable TO determine the.
cause Of the fire"
n. p. Good, chairman Of the
striking shopmen on the Pennsyl-
vania system, in statement to-
night deplored the fire and said 1t
could not be charged to the strik-
ing shopmen.
The shop destroyed was under
guard, as; I understand it, said
Mr.. Good, and could not be reach
ed except by some one having free
access TO the yards,
r. K. Kennedy, a watchman, saw
smoke coming from a section OF
the building which. in addition to
housing workmen,> was in part used
as a storehouse and a 'eommissary.
Running to the place, he saw the
interior of room filled with waste
was a mass of flames. He turned
in an alarm.
knowing that so men were sleep
ing on the second floor, Kennedy
dashed up the stairwya. He was
driven back by dense smoke but
made another attempt with bet
ter success.
Many of the men sleeping near
windows tumbled on the tracks.
and those who. were uninjured ran
from the yards. Others trapped in
their bunks perished.
The building was set in a net
work OF railroad tracks. and fire
lost time in reaching 1t.
When they finally arrived the oil
soaked floors had fallen and
the sheet iron sides had been twist
ed into a pile Of junk.
Exploring the ruins taxed the re-
sources of the firemen but by 10
o'clock the bodies had been re-
moved.
District Attorney Harry H. Row
an. conducting an independent IN
vestigation. gave out this state
ment:
IF facts warrant grand jury
will make an investigation sof the
fire.
Rowan declared. however, that
his preliminary investigation lad
not thrown any light upon the
cause of the conflagration.
Pennsylvania railroad officials
reiterated the statements Of ena-
ployees that the fire started within
the building. This they said caused
them to ignore a possible theory
that a spark from locomotive
might have been responsible. The
same officials declared the bunk
house cook corroba,ed the watch
mans statement that the lire.
when discovered, was roaring
through mass Of greasy waste
and rubbish.
81 was the last man to get out
alive" said n. L. Davis, a tall.
middle aged carpenter from Cor
bin. Ky.
..All l know about the fire is
that four men were behind me
but they couldn't make the door.'" !"
he added. Il don't know who
they were. They seemed to be
fighting. They were coughing. l
guess the smoke got them before
the fire did.
Its hard to say where the men
came from. was here only five
days. Some of the boys came be-
fore l did. a few had just ar
rived. Some. you know. did not
like TO give their right names.
was sleeping with some Of my
clothes on. I heard a yell and I
jumped for the door