Pittsburgh Press
20 August 1904
CROSSED WIRES WROUGHT HAVOC
Two Killed and Many Shocked by Electricity On Penn Avenue
Crossed wires and poor insulation caused by yesterday's rain, resulted in the death of two persons, the shocking of half a hundred others and setting fire to a number of houses in the Penn avenue district. About 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon, the illuminating wires of the Allegheny Heat & Light Co., between Sixteenth and Twenty-eighth streets, became surcharged with 2,000 volts of electricity, simultaneously discharging with a noise that threw many sections into terror. In several places the wires, unable to stand the strain, snapped off and fell to the street, telephones were charged with current, so that those who tried to use them were severely shocked, and fires broke out in many places. The district affected by the accident was in darkness last night.
The dead are: John Hock, Jr., of Lowrie street, Troy Hill, Allegheny, aged 24 years and married, salesman in the commission house of Henry Wett?, of No. 1704 Penn avenue , and George Ryan , of No. 418 Grant Street, Millvale, aged 28 years and married, employed in the wholesale liquor store of Theodore Geiselhart, No. 1919 Penn avenue. Hock met his death while attempting to turn on the electric light. The instant his hand touched the metallic socket, he screamed and stood transfixed. After the current had been turned off he fell to the floor dead. Ryan was washing bottles in the cellar of Geiselhart's establishment when he noticed the fuse burn out, leaving the place in darkness. He attempted to screw the socket into place, and was thrown across the room by the shock. He cried for help, but was dead when found.
In the saloon of P. J. Donley, the sudden increase in current charged the brass spigots and the damp floor and counter as well as the beer. Joseph Garvin, the bartender, was severely shocked, as were also Peter Schmidt, of Mulberry alley, and Frank Mullen, of Mulberry alley, who were drinking in the place. The counter and ice chest burst out in flames, but the fire was easily extinguished.
At the Iron City Produce Co., Charles Muehlbronner and John Harvey were shocked. In P. C. Shilling's drug store, at Penn avenue and Twenty-first street, the soda water became charged with electricity. At the Twenty-eighth street pharmacy, bottles were knocked from the shelves and considerable damage was done. In the No. 7 Engine House all lights were out and the ceiling caught fire. Throughout the district, affected by the accident, the people rushed out into the street greatly excited, expecting at any moment for their homes to be set afire by falling wires.
20 August 1904
CROSSED WIRES WROUGHT HAVOC
Two Killed and Many Shocked by Electricity On Penn Avenue
Crossed wires and poor insulation caused by yesterday's rain, resulted in the death of two persons, the shocking of half a hundred others and setting fire to a number of houses in the Penn avenue district. About 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon, the illuminating wires of the Allegheny Heat & Light Co., between Sixteenth and Twenty-eighth streets, became surcharged with 2,000 volts of electricity, simultaneously discharging with a noise that threw many sections into terror. In several places the wires, unable to stand the strain, snapped off and fell to the street, telephones were charged with current, so that those who tried to use them were severely shocked, and fires broke out in many places. The district affected by the accident was in darkness last night.
The dead are: John Hock, Jr., of Lowrie street, Troy Hill, Allegheny, aged 24 years and married, salesman in the commission house of Henry Wett?, of No. 1704 Penn avenue , and George Ryan , of No. 418 Grant Street, Millvale, aged 28 years and married, employed in the wholesale liquor store of Theodore Geiselhart, No. 1919 Penn avenue. Hock met his death while attempting to turn on the electric light. The instant his hand touched the metallic socket, he screamed and stood transfixed. After the current had been turned off he fell to the floor dead. Ryan was washing bottles in the cellar of Geiselhart's establishment when he noticed the fuse burn out, leaving the place in darkness. He attempted to screw the socket into place, and was thrown across the room by the shock. He cried for help, but was dead when found.
In the saloon of P. J. Donley, the sudden increase in current charged the brass spigots and the damp floor and counter as well as the beer. Joseph Garvin, the bartender, was severely shocked, as were also Peter Schmidt, of Mulberry alley, and Frank Mullen, of Mulberry alley, who were drinking in the place. The counter and ice chest burst out in flames, but the fire was easily extinguished.
At the Iron City Produce Co., Charles Muehlbronner and John Harvey were shocked. In P. C. Shilling's drug store, at Penn avenue and Twenty-first street, the soda water became charged with electricity. At the Twenty-eighth street pharmacy, bottles were knocked from the shelves and considerable damage was done. In the No. 7 Engine House all lights were out and the ceiling caught fire. Throughout the district, affected by the accident, the people rushed out into the street greatly excited, expecting at any moment for their homes to be set afire by falling wires.
Pittsburgh Press
20 August 1904
CROSSED WIRES WROUGHT HAVOC
Two Killed and Many Shocked by Electricity On Penn Avenue
Crossed wires and poor insulation caused by yesterday's rain, resulted in the death of two persons, the shocking of half a hundred others and setting fire to a number of houses in the Penn avenue district. About 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon, the illuminating wires of the Allegheny Heat & Light Co., between Sixteenth and Twenty-eighth streets, became surcharged with 2,000 volts of electricity, simultaneously discharging with a noise that threw many sections into terror. In several places the wires, unable to stand the strain, snapped off and fell to the street, telephones were charged with current, so that those who tried to use them were severely shocked, and fires broke out in many places. The district affected by the accident was in darkness last night.
The dead are: John Hock, Jr., of Lowrie street, Troy Hill, Allegheny, aged 24 years and married, salesman in the commission house of Henry Wett?, of No. 1704 Penn avenue , and George Ryan , of No. 418 Grant Street, Millvale, aged 28 years and married, employed in the wholesale liquor store of Theodore Geiselhart, No. 1919 Penn avenue. Hock met his death while attempting to turn on the electric light. The instant his hand touched the metallic socket, he screamed and stood transfixed. After the current had been turned off he fell to the floor dead. Ryan was washing bottles in the cellar of Geiselhart's establishment when he noticed the fuse burn out, leaving the place in darkness. He attempted to screw the socket into place, and was thrown across the room by the shock. He cried for help, but was dead when found.
In the saloon of P. J. Donley, the sudden increase in current charged the brass spigots and the damp floor and counter as well as the beer. Joseph Garvin, the bartender, was severely shocked, as were also Peter Schmidt, of Mulberry alley, and Frank Mullen, of Mulberry alley, who were drinking in the place. The counter and ice chest burst out in flames, but the fire was easily extinguished.
At the Iron City Produce Co., Charles Muehlbronner and John Harvey were shocked. In P. C. Shilling's drug store, at Penn avenue and Twenty-first street, the soda water became charged with electricity. At the Twenty-eighth street pharmacy, bottles were knocked from the shelves and considerable damage was done. In the No. 7 Engine House all lights were out and the ceiling caught fire. Throughout the district, affected by the accident, the people rushed out into the street greatly excited, expecting at any moment for their homes to be set afire by falling wires.
20 August 1904
CROSSED WIRES WROUGHT HAVOC
Two Killed and Many Shocked by Electricity On Penn Avenue
Crossed wires and poor insulation caused by yesterday's rain, resulted in the death of two persons, the shocking of half a hundred others and setting fire to a number of houses in the Penn avenue district. About 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon, the illuminating wires of the Allegheny Heat & Light Co., between Sixteenth and Twenty-eighth streets, became surcharged with 2,000 volts of electricity, simultaneously discharging with a noise that threw many sections into terror. In several places the wires, unable to stand the strain, snapped off and fell to the street, telephones were charged with current, so that those who tried to use them were severely shocked, and fires broke out in many places. The district affected by the accident was in darkness last night.
The dead are: John Hock, Jr., of Lowrie street, Troy Hill, Allegheny, aged 24 years and married, salesman in the commission house of Henry Wett?, of No. 1704 Penn avenue , and George Ryan , of No. 418 Grant Street, Millvale, aged 28 years and married, employed in the wholesale liquor store of Theodore Geiselhart, No. 1919 Penn avenue. Hock met his death while attempting to turn on the electric light. The instant his hand touched the metallic socket, he screamed and stood transfixed. After the current had been turned off he fell to the floor dead. Ryan was washing bottles in the cellar of Geiselhart's establishment when he noticed the fuse burn out, leaving the place in darkness. He attempted to screw the socket into place, and was thrown across the room by the shock. He cried for help, but was dead when found.
In the saloon of P. J. Donley, the sudden increase in current charged the brass spigots and the damp floor and counter as well as the beer. Joseph Garvin, the bartender, was severely shocked, as were also Peter Schmidt, of Mulberry alley, and Frank Mullen, of Mulberry alley, who were drinking in the place. The counter and ice chest burst out in flames, but the fire was easily extinguished.
At the Iron City Produce Co., Charles Muehlbronner and John Harvey were shocked. In P. C. Shilling's drug store, at Penn avenue and Twenty-first street, the soda water became charged with electricity. At the Twenty-eighth street pharmacy, bottles were knocked from the shelves and considerable damage was done. In the No. 7 Engine House all lights were out and the ceiling caught fire. Throughout the district, affected by the accident, the people rushed out into the street greatly excited, expecting at any moment for their homes to be set afire by falling wires.
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