The evening times., 1898-12-17
GAS WORKS EXPLOSION
In P0UGHKEEPSIE
THE CITY SEVERELY SHOCKED
Melting of GasOmeter-An I'm
mense Tower Of Flane-Onc Man
burned to u Crisp

| Poughkeepsie, N. Y, Dec. 17.-This city
and country for many miles around were
shaken by tremendous explosion soon
after o'clock yesterday afternoon There
was rumble of the earth, followed by a
great shock, as If of some internal con-
vulsion. followed by the sound of crash
such as might accompany the impact
| of a giant aerolite on the earth's surface.
/, Simultaneous with the shock a tower of
| flame 100 feet high leaped from the
Poughkeepsie gas works The walls were
| parted and torn in every direction, and
| the roof was crushed into fragments and
scattered around the vicinity, with frag-
ments of the timbers and bricks and ma
sonry. Nothing was left standing of the
main building except a section of the
| wall on the south side, which rested
against@a bank of earth.
A kissing wall of fire hurled itself sky
ward for an hour. The big gasometer.
| holding $4,000 feet of gas, slowly sank as
The gas from the broken mains feeding
it was consumed. until the iron roof rest
ed even with the ground, and there was
| no more gas left TO be burned. The fire.
| men could do nothing to check the fire.
The explosion occurred at the time of
| ployes There were five men in the build
| ing-Patrick Cailigan, the engineer; Jas.
McCombs, a gas man, both of the night
| Shift and Thomas McCombs and Daniel
Sheedy, of the day shift, and Louis ii.
Baurhite. handy man. Baurhite was
found between the big gasometer and the
wrecked building, lying on a pile of bTok-
en- wall. He was partially covered by
bricks and debris, and on his head rested
piece of broken steam pipe. His body
was charred TO a crisp. All the clothing
was burned off except his shoes.
Deputy Coroner Anderson, with the as
sistance of the sfiremen, cleared the de-
bris away and carried out the body. Pat
rick Ca1ligan and James McCombs Were
blown some distance, but were rescued
alive McCombs is burned from his head
TO his feet. and will die. Calligan has a
fracture of the right leg at the knee. and
his face hands and arms were burned.
He will live Thomas McCombs and Dan
iel Sheedy escaped uninjured except from
shock
In Laurel Street adjoining the wrecked
gas plant and across the street are sew
eraI frame buildings. On every floor the
sashes were blown i'm and plaster knocked
from the walls Arthur Todd. who occu-
pied the house adjoining the works, said
the house swung like Il pendulum. He
was in a room on an upper floor, and in
it, besides himself. were Mrs. Emily Booth
and her daughter, Mrs. Walter Westmil-
ier, and Mrs. Wendell, another tenant in
the house Mrs. Booth was cut about the
head by flying glass. a barn in the rear
of the premises had side blown in.
For several seconds after the explosion
the air was so full of flying fragments
that persons who rushed from their
homes ran back again TO find safety from
the falling sticks and bricks. When the
shower ceased the streets filled with
frightened parents, carrying their babies
and dragging their children from the
scene of the disaster.
James H. Hadden, the mana ger. said
the trouble was caused when the night
shift came on. The relief holder in the
generating room was full of gas, and
making it fast. The gas was started up
extra fast into the purifier TO draw it
away. The strong flow of gas blew out
the water in the purifying boxes, and al
lowed 1t to escape into the generator
room. Before the men could get water in
boxes 10 stop the flow, the gas ignited
from the gas jets in the generating room
and the explosion followed.