The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-12-20
AND The Gas WENT OFF.
Startling Explosion in the Cellar Of
the c. K. Wells Company
Building.
Ben Daley, One of the Employees,
Badly Burned About the
Face.
Firms Employees Prevented n Much
More Serious Accident.

BENZ. L. DALEY. a young man employed
by the G.. X. Wells company, cams down
tow at his usual hour yesterday morning
to fire. mp the furnace in order to have the
building heated in time for the business OF.
the day. The furnace IL located in the
front of the cellar and on the south side
1t was only half past six when Daley
reached the building, and as it was quite
dark at that hour he lit the gas jet along
sid the boiler in order to see how to work.
He next put his shavinRs and wood INTO the
oven. and was ready for the coal. The ooai
10 kept in the space under the sidewalk in
front of the building. This space is sepa-
rated from the main cellar by a board par
tition. and access 10 gained by a doorway to
the right OF the furnace. In order to push
the coal out to the place near the
furnace, it is necessary to go
inside the cellar under the sidewalk. Dali
Icy opened the communicating door for this
purpose. No sooner did he do SO than
there was a rush of gas from the snb-side-
walk cellar. and almost Immediately after
ward a loud explosion, The force threw
Daley back against the washstand near
by with his clothing in flames. He was
30 stunned that he was powerlsss to help
himself. Alex Kennedy, another employe
OF the company, and who sleeps on the
second floor of the building, had just got
ten up, and hearing tho explosion, thought
one of the floors of the press room had
given way. He rushed dow stairs. and
saw at once from the smoke that was SOM
ing up the cellar way that something was
wrong below. He ran down and was in
time to- put out the FIRE On Dailey's clothing
and also to e~xtinRuish the flames that had
communicated to some ehavings near the
furnace n some towels on the wall. Tho
fire alarm was rung. but there was NO need
of its services. as Kennedy's prompt ao-
tion had prevented any spread of the
flames. Fortunately there was very little
light or infiammable stuff in the cellar, or
. big FIRE might have resulted. The loss. as
it turned out. was trifling.
Daley was carried up to the main floor
and a physician summoned. The young
man was badly burned about the face, but
ious case. He was removed to the residence
of his brother-in-law, James s. FeatheEiy,
one OF the company, and at lass reports
was resting comfortably.
The force of the explosion was something
terrific. Those who had occasion to be at
hour say the buildings where they were
shook and rocked as If from an earthquake.
One OF the plate glass windows on the en-
trance side of the Wells building was
cracked clear across, and one OF the panes
of glass in the upper story was smashed.
For about two weeks there has been a
strong smell of gas in the cellar of the
Wells building, as there has been in The
cellar of She Merchants bank building
across this street. Workmen for the gas
company have been and are still trying to
locate any possible leak in the mains.
Thus far they have not found aay.
Wherever the gas may have come from,
whether from the main or from the service
pipe leading into the building, it collected
in the s~ub-sidewalk cellar of the Wells
place during Sunday and Sunday night,
and remained there. growing denser and
denser until the door leading from the
cellar was opened by Daley yesterday
morning. Then the accumulated gas
rushed out and was ignited by the burning
jet alongside the furnace. The hole through
which the coal is taken was open, and the
supposition ia that q draft entered there
aud banked the gas toward tho other end
whore tho door is, and thus prevented it
escaping into the cellar until Daley opened
the door.
supe, intendent G. M. Williams, Of the
gas oompany, said last night that there had
been complaints from the Merchants hank
in regard to the accumulation of gas in the
cellar of that building. and he had had men
at work making every effort to find any
possible leak. So far he had not been able
to discover any flaw in the gas mains near
the Wells building or the Merchants bank.
and ia unable to account for the presence of
gas in the cellar of the former place.