Olin D. Milner, 42, warehouse porter, rescued George B. Sawyer, 31, and John D. Jeffries, 52, salesmen, and attempted to rescue John B. Gelissen, 39, clerk, from suffocation, Atlanta, Georgia, June 10, 1933. Sawyer, Jeffries, and Gelissen were in the basement of a warehouse when an explosion occurred in a fumigating room, where bisulphide of carbon had been used. The wall that separated the fumigating room from the rest of the basement was blown down. Windows were shattered, and lights were extinguished. Smoke, dust, and a strong odor filled the basement and the ground floor above. The men were knocked down. From the front door, Milner ran through fumes on the ground floor to the elevator shaft at the rear of the building. He descended the frame of the elevator to the basement floor and in darkness walked 12 feet to Sawyer. Milner dragged Sawyer to the elevator and hoisted it until it wedged seven feet above the floor. Other men then pulled Sawyer to the ground floor. Milner descended on the elevator to the basement and, while his eyes and throat were affected, groped his way 33 feet to Jeffries. He dragged Jeffries to the elevator and Jeffries was hoisted. Milner also was pulled up to the ground floor, where he bathed his face and got a flashlight. Thinking that conditions in the basement were growing worse and fearing that he might be overcome, he asked several men to accompany him, but all refused. Descending a stairway near the elevator and holding a wet towel over his nose, Milner stooped and groped for Gelissen as he crawled in a narrow passage between barrels and boxes. Stumbling from weakness, he passed through a doorway to an adjoining basement. Not finding Gelissen, he continued to a stairway and ascended. Firemen prevented him from reentering. Gelissen was rescued by firemen, but 10 days later he died from effects of fumes. Jeffries died from effects of the fumes two days after the accident. Sawyer was seriously injured but recovered. Milner’s general health was seriously affected by the fumes. 33205-2786
33205 – 2786
33205-2786