New-York tribune., 1882-02-18
DETAILS OF TIE DISASTER.
lBY TELEGRAPH TO TIE rRIRCSE.l

oulpt
inc bv an explosion in the pyrotcchnc works Of Pro-
fossorJ c. Jackson, which killed fourteen persons,
seriously wounded about thirty or forty more and
shattered every house in the ncighbOrhood. The
scene of the disaster is an isolated district Of the
c;tv where only few shanty dwcllers live. The
bonse in which the explosion occurred is an his
1orical structure, having been erected III l72l by
Commodore Porter. Until sixteen years ago 1t
was occupied by Admiral Porter as a resi-
dence II is uupretcmticus ir appearance now,
lint when il was the home Of the Porter family the
huilding was surrounded by handsome grove OF
tau trees which shaded the walks at all honrs.
The trees still remaip, bat the ground is barren
waste of land The binding constructed of
stone. and stood on plaza overlooking the Della
ware River 1t was about forty feet long and twenty
feet wide with peaked roof and en- attic.
Professor Jackson selected it for his factory he
canse was removed from the heart Of the city. lie
had had accidents before in his factory, which
had killed people in the ncighborhood, and so he
chose this spot because it was sparScly settled.
He added some ext, nsioaS to the old homestead TO
suit the particular purposes OF his bnSlneSS, ana
changed its appearance generally The main build
ing was two stories high with an attic Half OF the
first floor was occupied by John Brown, the janitor
His family consisted of his wife and child and his
wife's parents Mr.. and Mrs, Biockscn. The other
half of the same floor was used as the machinery
room. In the second floor over the apartments of
the ianitor was room about twelve feet square,
called the drying room." In it was stored vast
quantity Of skyrockcts. Adjoining this room on
the same floor was another apartment
known As the mixing -room." Chemicals used in the
preparation of fireworks stored there In the
attic were stored about 100 bombs. They were
placed in the highest room III the house so that II
they should explode they could shoot IN The air
and cause no damage. Behind the main building
WAS "A two-sory brick extension, covered with
wooden roof The first floor Of this extension was
used as a carpenter shop and on the second floor
were stored hundreds of cOlorcd stars, which are
manufactured to shoot high in the air and then ex-
plode into a myriad stars. At one side of the main
building was smaller brick extension,
which was separated from the stone
structure by wall five feet in
thickness. In this room were stored The danger
ous chemicals. About fifty feet from the buildings
with its extensions sas large magazine built III
the ground. There were over 100 pounds of gun
powder in il to-day.
This is a description of the buildings and their
surroundings as they at z a. III. to-day. At
that time no one was in the bnilding except the
janitor and his family. Charles Van Ilern, young
man in the employ ofProfcssor Jackson Is the first to
arrive at the building every morning He comes from
Philadelphia and usually reaches the factory at 73O
m. When he looked through the different rooms
there was nothing to attract his attention specially.
In the drying-room on the second floor small
stove which heated the room. The boy noticed that
the fire was very low, and as two girls worked III
the room he stirred up the fire to make il burn. As
il was not time for the girls to arrive he went TO the
store-houSc in the yard TO get some wood. As lie
was returning to the building he noticed a sheet of
fame shooting out of a window III the room he had
lust left lie knew Immediately that assistance
would be necessary TO extinguish the fire, and so
he gave the alarm The city is neither
prosperous nor energetic enough to support paid
fire department. The functions Of hremen are per-
formed by volunteers who work in the mills, fac
tories and ship yards. 1t is customary, however
for nearly the whole population to attend fire of
any extent. Last night the Military Academy was
burned to the ground, and both lircmen and nhabi-
tauts returned to their homes wcared and eXhauS:ed
when, however, another alarm Of fire given this
morning the twenty or thirty volunteer fremen
attached tOthc IIanley Hose, Franklin Hose and the
Noyamensing Hook and Ladder Companies prompt
1yTcspondcd Before the yhad time preach The scene
Of the fire loud explosion was heard which shook
the houses, but did no other damage. Tins,
it is surnised, was the explosion of about
GOO rockets which stored in the room where
the fire was first discovered When the iircmen
arrived the flames had communicated TO the "ruiX-
iDg-room" on the second floor, and were steadily
creeping 20 the attic.
few minutes after the first explosion another
loud report was heard and bombs were seen shoot
ing every direction III the air. These explosions
caused the whole structure to be wrapped i'll
flames, and from every window thick black smoke
poured out in great volumes. Through the smoke
could be seen the bright glaring light Of the burn
ing chemicals, and occasionally some rockets would
rise in the air and burst in beautiful designs over
the raging fire. There was a scarcity of water at
the fIe and the fremen's feeble efforts did
little TO check the flames Some of the fremen
mounted the twO-story extension behind The main
building so that they could readily pour water
on the flames The only person connected with the
factory who present at the fire was the boy
Horn Professor Jackson lives in Philadelphia aud
had not reached the fac iory. Horn told The lremen
and the citizens who were at work that the build
ing was filed with explosive material AID that an
accident was liable to happen at any moment A
young man named Bagshaw, who had worked il the |
building for nine years and who was familiar with |
the dangerous character of he articles stored in it,
pleaded with the men TO leave the grounds |
Boh these young men assured the |
volunteer helpers that the fire had |
got beyond their CONTROL and that their efforts 30
QGench the flames were attended with great
uangcf 70 theIf hYce. But the hrcinch Hecdcd not |
Their warnings, and continued to work with 10 ap-
parent aim. Six men are known to have been on
Tie extension, some tearing up the roof and Others
pouring light stream OF water into the main
building.
About an hour after the second explosion a third
one occurred. At the same instant the whole cx-
tension was seen to rise bodily iii the air, ana the
men VINO were on II were sent flying ia every di-
'ecton' Some were shot up into trees
ana fel Iheleas through the branches
one mans head was severed from his body. An
s'nef vas lited 100 feet into the air and was seen