Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-03-26
WHAT CAUSED IT?

Myst erious Explosion on Bank Street
 This MorninE-PIa;e Glass Window
 In SnNgg's Store Wrecked-The
 Trouble in a Brick Ash BIn.
 A low, rumbling sound, followed by shock like the crack of doom. and the big plate window in the tailor store of P. F. S R. c. Snagg. in the Greenberg X Buckner book, 115 Bank street was whipped out of its position and smashed to pieces on the sidewalk Two large windows in the rear of the building were torn out Of the casing ard the wainscoting ln the rear of the safe was ripped from the wall
 The explosion occurred about S:3O o'clock this morning. c. T. Snagg, and N. W. Greenman' the coal dealer, were in the store. Mir Snagg was lifted from the i floor and tossed about as If he was on teetering board and Mr Greenman, who was leaning agaiLst the cutting bench, reading paper. was thrown against the bench with great force knocking the skin of his leg and bruislng his side.
 The shock attracted q large crowd and an investigation was commenced. Golug into the cellar the place looked as though it had been visited by a tornado. The door and n window in the rear of the building were thrown into the cellar and a number of the bricks had tumbled in with the door and window castings. Outside, the brick ash bin was total wreck. It was here that the explosion had occurred, but no one seemed to be able to assign any cause for it. Some thought the shock was produced by escaping gas, but this did not seem probable as there was no odor to indicate that there was gas in the building Others said that some one must have thrown | dynamite down the ash chute. Contractor John W. Gaffney sad that the throwing of | every kind of matter into an ash bin and | leaving It there for some time Is likely to | generate gas. Then when hot ashes Is thrown into it there Is great danger of an explosion, and he wondered why there are not more cases of this kind reported, for people seem to think that the ash bin is q safe receptacle for composite parts of everything they don't happen to have any use for
 Chief Snagg was seen and said he did not believe that an accumulation of gas was the cause. The ash pit was not an | air tight compartment and even If 1t were, sufficient gas could not have been formed there 10 burst through an eight inch brick wall and create the havoc it did. He thinks that some Combustible substance possessing great force must have been dropped through the chute. He had learned that some of the neighbors said that immediately lfter the explosion watel was heard running down the chute and E burning rag was discovered in the same It is conjectured that some of the tenant! dropped burning rag through into the ash pit and poured water after il to put i out, but the rag in the meantime had com, in contact with some explosive acid ana caused the explosion.
 Tracy Brothers put in temporary light of glass in the building this afternoon The glass was not insured and the owner of the block will be out most of the losses Mir Bu.kner said he did not know how much the damage would amount 70 In so excited now" he said. "tbat I don know anything
 \. W. Greenman was around this after noon but said that his knee and side fel sore. Tine thing botherlnE ne most now. he said. ''is the loss of half A dCzen goo, cigars that were smashed in my vest peek ct" Samuel Grcenberg d p"s not belieV, that the explosion could have been caused by anything which the ash bin coutAint l It was thoroughly cleaned week ago an, did not contain over a barrel of ashes.