The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-01-13
A Close Call!

Sunday morniD G j. J. Richardson started a
hre in his kitchen range attac he'd to which was
forty gallon reservoir, or heater. filed with
water. The range stood in the northeast corner
at the kitchen, which adjoins the dining room
at the north, door communicating between
the two rooms about midway in the partition
wall Directly west Of the range is a door open
ing into pantry. with an outside window i'm
mediately in range with the door. In the south
west corner of the kitchen is an outside door,
while nearly opposite is a door opening into
the bathroom. There are two windows in the
south wall of the kitchen, In the routheast cor
ner of the dining room. stands small ,parlor
stove. in which Mr.. Richardson had also built
a fire. He had just stepped from the KITCHEN,
where he had been standing in front of the
range, in which the fire had be come a mass of
glowing Goals, into the dining room to look
after the fire there. Scarcely had he passed
through the doorway and taken a step or two
toward the stove when terrific explosion oc-
CURED. that shook the house as if by an earth
quake, yearly taking Mr.. B. off his feet. Re-
covering himself he stepped to the kitchen door
and beheld an explanation of the awful COM
motion. The water in the feeding pipes had
frozen solid during the previous night and
when the fire became hot enough to generate
steam they exploded with terrific force, blowing
the range all to pieces and hurting fragments
in every direction. The door between the kitch-
en- and dining room was forced from its hinges
and portions of the castings blown out. The
pantry door stood partially ajor. but was badly
battered and disdgured while large projectile
was hurled through the pantry window, landing
in the yard of aneighbor. The southwest door
was effectually sealed by a sharp pointed piece
of the wreck which had been forced between
kba a. fho oSin fo TO
wedge it shut. so that all efforts to open it were
fruitless until the piece was removed. The
southeast door was riddled and dented, and the
plastering in the bathroom more or less Jared
off. Overhead the ceiling looked as though 3
small cyclone had struck it, great patches of
plastering being blown off. and in one place the
lath being broken. On the floor, in the midst
| of recked chairs and other furniture was the
remains of the fine Climax range, blown into
/ a shapeless mass of steel and iron, so complete
| ly blown to pieces that no one would have i'm
| agined thatit was ever a range. The building
shook as though it would fall, terrifying the
| other members of the family, who came rushing
| from their beds to discover the meaning of the
| awful commotion, The water from the heater
| and house pipe soon flooded the room, and ice
was formed an inch Or two IN thickness. The
scene was indescribable.
Mr.. Richardson's life was saved by few sec
onds of time, Had he remained in the kitchen
five seconds longer he would have had no more
chance for.his life than a man standing beside
bursting boiler. The shock was so heavy tina
many articles in other rooms were dislodge(
from t heir positions, the china on the sideboart
being just on the verge of falling to the floor
While the calamity was a serious and e.
pensive one, Mr.. has good cause to congrat
ulate himself over the preservation of his ow
and his tamily's lives Mrs. R. was on tn
. point of going to the kitchen. where she woul
S certainly have been in few minutes more
!. With great presence Of mind she seized a pa
of water and extinguished the mass of coal
!. that had commenced to burn hole in the foo
. Soon the terrified neighbors came hurrying i
q and on learning what was the matter rendere
# every assistance in their power, and after
e great amount of hard work sufficient order WI
n brought out of the wrecked rooms, and thinl
70 ing it as well to laugh as cry over past calam
: ties. MIR. Richardson and family proceeded
Ie derive all the enjoyment they could from
g. picked up" breakfast. for the warming
1T which they were indebted to the little parl
stove and the kindness of neighbors.