Milwaukee, WI Johns Manville Mfg Co Fire, Feb 1909

SIX KILLED AT A FIRE.

Milwaukee Firemen Caught Under a Falling Wall.

MILWAUKEE, Wis., Feb. 13.---Five firemen were killed and about a dozen injured, two fatally, by the toppling over of a brick wall while they were fighting fire in the big plant of the H. W. Johns Manville Manufacturing Company at 225 Clybourne Street this afternoon. An employe[sic] of the concern received burns in his attempt to escape from the burning building which resulted in his death at a hospital.

The pecuniary loss is estimated at $25,000, covered by insurance.

The dead are:

Assistant Chief James G. Gunning, Lieut. N. J. Whaley, Joseph Bilinski, pipeman; James Burke, John Kraft.

The dead employe[sic] was Thomas Pitchs.

Two companies of firemen were stationed on a wall and roof of the Waltham Piano building south of the H. W. Johns Manville plant when, without warning, the rear wall of the burning building bulged outward and crashed down. The firemen were caught under the mass of brick and timber, which smashed through the roof of the piano warehouse, carrying the firemen to the floor below.

The fire followed an explosion of oil on the second floor of the plant of the Manville Company.

The New York Times, New York, NY 14 Feb 1909
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Transcribed by Linda Horton. Thank you, Linda!