Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 54, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 October 1916 — STEAMER WAS ON EIRE AT SEA [ARTICLE]

STEAMER WAS ON EIRE AT SEA

Over 400 Passengers in Ignorance of Grave Danger. New York, October I.—Fire which broke out in the cargo hold of the American line steamship Philadelphia Thursday while the vessel was approximately 800 miles from this port, was smouldering under a blanket of steam when she arrived here today. So successful were the officers and crew in keeping the news from the 464 passengers, lest there should be a panic among them, that few were aware of the peril they had been in until after the big liner docked. The first intimation of fire in the hold of the Philadelphia was when smoke was seen pouring from a hatch almost directly under the steerage dining room aft. The officers, it was said, removed the 343 steerage passengers at once and took precautions to keep the news from spreading to the first and second cabin passengeis. While it was asserted the blaze was gotten under control quickly, no time was lost in steaming to port. The Philadelphia left Liverpool > Saturday, September 23. ..How the firO started, it was said, has not been determined. Flooding of the cargo hold checked the flames, according to the crew.