"Greeks Burned to Death in Mad Rush for Clothes .... Milwaukee Blaze" article - Chicago Daily Tribune, July 1, 1909

Published in the Chicago Daily Tribune, July 1, 1909

GREEKS BURNED TO DEATH

IN MAD RUSH FOR CLOTHES.

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Caught in Narrow Exits, Employes 

Hurl Themselves to Ground in a

$300,000 Milwaukee Blaze.

Milwaukee, Wisc., June 30. - [Special] - In a mad rush to escape from the flames in the Kleckhefer box factory tonight three employes were injured and two firemen were overcome by heat and smoke while fighting the fire.  The loss was $300,000.

Two Greeks, Peter Bongales and Constantinos Ganos, are believed to have been burned to death.  They were seen to go into the burning building to get their clothes and a search of the city boarding houses has failed to locate them.

The men and boys were working at the south end of the big two story structure when the alarm was sounded.  The flames flashed rapidly through the lumber and the men feared to use the exits, the result being a jam in the north end of the structure, where there are only narrow doors.

Failing to get out by way of the doors, the men leaped from the windows.  Byron Fullerton and Arthur Fulbrigger sustained broken legs in jumping from second story windows.  Both were seized by Eddie Bryant, a bystander, and dragged to the street together in time to escape being buried by other men following them.