A Boiler Explosion on the Steamer Monticello
A fireman is fighting for his life after a high-pressure steam pipe failed mid-voyage near Kingston, marking the second such accident for the vessel.
A pipe in the boiler of the steamer Monticello blew out yesterday morning. Edward Fallihee, a fireman, was terribly scalded and is now at Providence hospital suffering intense pain and hovering between life and death. At about 8:15 o'clock, the steamer was passing Kingston on her way to Port Angeles. Fallihee was in the hold at the furnace, and the engineer, Edward Peake, was about midships. Suddenly a jar was felt throughout the boat, and the hold was filled with steam in an instant. When the explosion took place, Fallihee was knocked down by the rushing steam and, half stunned, found himself lying in boiling water. He reached the ladder, more dead than alive, and got his head above deck. His brother Joseph, who works on the boat, grabbed him as he appeared and kept him from falling back into the pit. The boat was floating helplessly until the tug Mogul took her in tow back to Seattle. The accident was due to one of the vertical steam pipes blowing out of its socket. Captain Hatch thinks this was due to imperfect workmanship.
“His brother, who stood by his side, describes his sufferings as the 'agony of the damned.'”
Steamboat accidents were a constant, terrifying reality of Puget Sound transit in the 1890s, often blamed on the 'booster' mentality that pushed machinery beyond its safety limits to maximize profit. Today, the names of the vessels and the specific industrial risks have changed, but the tension between worker safety and the demands of regional infrastructure remains a persistent feature of the waterfront.
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