The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-01-14

One of the large fifty-horse- power
boilers at +. NJ, & A. d. Spencers
Green Ridge Iron works. located on
Green Ridge street. at the Delaware
and Hudson railroad crossing, ex-
ploded shortly before 10 o'clock last
night, completely wrecking the boiler
room and distributing debris in every
direction for a distance Of over 200
yards.
Fortunately. no one was injured
The boiler was one of four which
stood in n row in the boiler room, n
frame structure about 60x60 feet in
size. situated in the rear endssbf the
plant.
1t was cylindrical in shape, being
about 20 feet long and four and one
half feet high. The sheets of which
it was constructed were three-eighths
| of an inch thick. 1t had been in use
for eleven wears and was inspected
yesterday bv Fred Mertz.
The only persons about the place
when the explosion occurred were r.
]. Penman. the fireman and night
watchman and George McNeal, who
has charge of the furnaces at night.
Penman saws that he was at the
boiler Just five minutes before the ex>
| plosion occurred and at that time
there was but twenty-five pounds OF
steam on.
Tho water guages. he says. showed
| that there was sufficient water I'm the
| boiler.
| He left the boiler room and had just
| had time to go to the front end Of
the building when the explosion oc-
| CURED.
Had he been near the boiler at the
time he would. beyond doubt, have
been seriously Injured and more prob
| ably killed.
| BOILER RIPPED IN TWO.
The noise made by the explosion
was not very loud. which is accounted
| for bv the fact that the boiler was
ripped completely in two and both
| ends blown out.
The force of the explosion complete
| ly wrecked the boiler room. The wood
| en- walls and roof We're broken up in
| small pieces and scattered in all direc-
| tions. One half OF the boiler, weighing
| about 1900 pounds. was carried about
| seventy-five feet by the explosion.
The other half was ripped into
| smaller sections. when went sailing
| north south, east and west for dis
| tances varying from twenty-five to 200
| feet.
| One section, weighing about one hun
| dred pounds. fell on the railroad tracks
| near the crossing, a distance of over
| seventy-fve yards. The bricks which
| formed the foundation on which the
| boiler rested We're blown great dis
| tances.
Many of them We're sprinkled along
| Dickson avenue, between Green Ridge
| and Delaware streets, but as far as
| could be learned none of them struck
| anybody
| One large brick weighing over five
| pounds came in through the second
story window of a house on Green
| Ridge street, next the Green Ridge
Lumber company's yard, and occupied
by Fred Seelig and family. Mr.. See
lig's two small children were asleep
| in the room at the time and the brick
| landed alongside their bed.
| A lot of smaller debris also came in
through the window and struck their
| feet, not injurng them. however. An
| other brick flew through the plate
| glass window in Bowers candy store,
| on Dickson avenue.
| OTHER BOILERS DISTURBED.
The three other boilers in the boiler
| room We're blown out of position and
badly damaged by the force of the ex-
plosion.
The fireman, Penman, could offer no
theory whatever as to the cause of the
| explosion.
There were only twenty-five pounds
of steam on, he said, whereas there
We're generally seventy pounds OH
J throughout working hours.
II cannot possibly understand" said
he, "what caused the explosion. 1t is
most mysterious
Comfort for Mother and Child