Evening star., 1943-09-13
S250,000 Fire Sweeps
Philadelphia Station;
$50 Persons Injured
By the Associated Press.


PHILADELPHIA, Sept. ia,
eight-alarm fire that roared I'm
checked for four hours through
train sheds at the Pennsylvania
Railroads Broad Street Station lef
Is tracks tumble of charret
wreckage today with damage esti
mated by the railroad at $250,00O.
More than $50 persons. nearly al
of them f1remen and civilian protec.
tion workers, were injured, severa
seriously, in battling the blaze, which
broke out as church bells rang yes
terday, six days after the Pennsyl-
-vaaia's Congressional Limited was
wrecked at Philadelphia with a
death toll of 80,
The Federal Bureau of Investiga-
ton, City Fire Bureau, railroad po-
lice and Army and Navy intelli-
gence Offices Immediately began an
investigation of the fire, which
started in an engine room under the
Chinese wall" on which trains ap-
proach The station from the west
Service was restored to normal at
am. today.
Loud Explosions Heard.
Sergt. Harry Burke of the city
detective squad said several charred
boxes were removed from the engine
room for chemical analysis. Fire
men reported several loud explo-
sions were heard and flames shot
up so feet between the tracks soon
after the first alarm sounded.
The 81 trains scheduled to leave
yesterday from the $4,000,0O0 sta
ton, which replaces a structure de-
stroyed by a 100000 fire in 1928,
left instead from the connecting
suburban station and the Thirtieth
Street station.
The railroad said all passengers
in the station, including approxi-
mately 100 boarding a train for
New York, were escorted to safety.
More than 1000 men were rushed
In work-cars from New York, Har-
risburg and other points to con-
struct a makeshift passenger plat
form a block west of the fire-swept
area.
A total of 118 carloads OF material
and equipment had arrived for re-
construction of the damage and an
other 81 carloads were en- route, the
railroad announced.
R. c. Morse, vice president in
charge Of the railroads eastern divi-
sion, disclosed that 6 passenger
coaches and 1.5o0 pieces of baggage
were destroyed. He added, how
ever, that very little mail" was lost.
Central city traffic was rerouted
several blocks around the station,
which stands across from city hall
in the center of Philadelphia. Aux
iliary policemen and hundreds of
servicemen helped the regular police
force hold back more than $4,000
spectators attracted by the billow-
ing white smoke.
The most seriously injured were
Capt. Carl H. Savage, Army Air
Forces of Trevose Heights, Pa, who
suffered crushed chest and frac-
tured ribs; Hoseman William
Schrade, 81, whose back was injured,
and Fireman Peter Lanutti, who
broke a leg.
The 80th victim of the Congress
sional Limited wreck died yesterday
afternoon in Frankford Hospital.
He was Irving Ginsburg, IT, of New
York.
Overhead Shelters Collapse.
The fire did not damage the COM
panys new Broad Street Suburban
Station, which is connected to the
Broad Street Station by a subway
All 16 tracks leading into the sta
ton were put up of service by the
flames consuming the ties and
warping the steel rails. All over
head shelters on the platform COL
lapsed.
A former Broad Street Station, To-
Gated on the same site was destroyed
by a 81 900, 900 blaze on June II, 1928.
More than 100 firemen were injured
or overcome by smoke at that time.
The 10 o'clock New York train was
In the station when the fire was dis
covered. When electric power failed.
a steam locomotive was hooked to
three of the cars and removed them
from danger The other seven
caught fire and burned rapidly All
were removed safely.
Subway Station Closed.
Smoke spread through the Phila-
delphia Transit Co.'S subway system,
and the company closed its 18th
Street station, which is Immediately
under the Broad Street station.
The first alarm sounded at 9:38
am. Within short time all fire
equipment in the central zone was
at the scene.
Thousands jammed City Hall
Plaza and the streets surrounding
the municipal buildings to watch
the battle against the flames.
Damage to the main part of the
building, containing waiting rooms
and ticket Office. was confined to
smoke and water.