Evening star., 1924-11-09

to he abandoned for the time being.
A fire alarm was sent in. which was
responded to by the nearest hook and
ladder company. On it's arrival a t the
scene a S5-foot ladder was placed
down the hatch and Firemen' David
]. oliver and Frank 6. Rowe, after
having ropes tied around them, man
aged to penetrate down into the
murky depths of the sulphur pit.
Their work had to be done with great
rapidity, as in those days there were
no gas masks and the two flremen
were scarcely able to breathe. every
inhalation consisting OF sulphurized
air.
The exact length of time the. were
down in the hold OF the Yumuri Is
not recorded. 1t is needless to say,
however. that both men were almost
unconscious when the other members
of the company received the signal to
draw them to the surface by means
of the ropes attached to their bodies.
After great dfniculty and cropping
around in the hold they had succeeded
in making a rope fast around the an-
conscious stevedore and he was
brought to the surface.
The doctor who responded to the
ambulance call, Leon J. Grout, ambu-
lance surgeon of the Volunteer Hos
pital, gave high praise to the two Are
men, declaring that they deserved the
highest comfhen dation for their fear
lessness and bravery in the perform
ance of duty. The unfortunate victim
injured by his plunge down the hatch :
way, but the sulphur fumes had rem
dered him almost lifeless.
4 X X K
A MOTHER rescue Of even more SEN
a sational Character occurred one
afternoon on the steamship Hutton
wood as it lay moored at the foot of
Thirty first street, Brooklyn. What
made this operation particularly haz-
ardous was the fact that the vessel
was loaded with a large quantity Of
benzol, a highly inhammable material
which formed part of a cargo OF war
supplies for use by the allies.
The fire on the ship started in hold
No. 1, containing more than 2,ooe
drums OF benzol. 1t extended to hold
No. ., to the bunkers. and to holds
Nos. 8 and 4, in the last-mentioned of
| which more than 300 additional drums
of benzol had been stored. AS the
heat reached the bcnzol, drum after
drum exploded. Twelve longshore
men had been burned in hold No.
when the first explosion occurred, and
there was considerable dificulty on
the part of the crew in bringing them
to the deck.
On the arrival Of the Are depart
ment forces at the scene Acting Bat
TALON Chief Patrick Toman, in look
ing down into hold No. /, noticed the
body of man lying on part Of the
cargo. He Immediately had a ladder
placed in the hold and descended it,
followed by Capt. Richard J. Cullen,
who had a rope made fast around him.
The two men tied a rope around the
body of the PROSTATE man and he was
brought to the surface. He was re-
moved to the Norwegian Hospital,
where he died the same evening
Three other men who were burned in
the same hold died that night.
In fighting this fire several MEM
bers of the fire department were se-
verely burned by the sheets of flame
which belched from the hatch. The
fire was particularly dangerous be-
cause of the explosions constantly oc-
curing in the hold OF the vessel.
After considerable difiiculty and much
danger. this fire was finally brought
under control without the loss OF the
vessel. The fire department forces
were spurred on by a spirit of pa
triotism in fighting this fire. as they
were Informed that the cargo was
intended for the war front in France.
In addition to the benzol there
were quantities of steel plates. ma
chinery, wire and other necessary war
supplies. Some of the explosions from
the cargo of benzol were very severe.
One fireman was blown by an explo-
sion over the bulwarks Of the steamer
to the deck of a tugboat alongside
and suffered severe injuries.
1t is very satisfactory to be able to
G. a af
In the performance OF the difficult
duty. despite the fact that death was
momentarily staring them in the face.
The benzol converted the hold Of the
ship into mass Of liquid ire, and Il
was only by superhuman efforts that
the blaze was controlled.
4 < -
4 MARINE rescue of high order was
"A that, pc rformed by Capt. Leonard
Gebhard OF Engine Company 22s
(Which is the company number Of the
fireboat William J. Gaynor). On Feb.
ruary II. 1919. serious fire broke out
in the hold of the steamship K. L.
Luck en- bach. which was moored at
Pier /. Bush Docks, at the foot of
F'iftieth street, Brooklyn. AT the
time this boat was being used as a
United States transport, and was
loaded with war supplies. when the
fireboat Gaynor reached the scene the
vessel was enveloped in dense smoke,
SO much SO that the firemen who fifst