Daily Kennebec journal., 1905-09-16
Terrible Accident in a
Large Fuse Factory
Al Avon, Conn., .---Seven Dead
And Several viii Die.
Friends and Relatives, Power|sss 10 Aid,
See the Victims Perish.

Avon. Ct. Sept. i5.-Thc explosion Of
Il lus... followed by u fire in a building
nl The Climax Fuse Co. here, this after
noon. caused a panic among 20 en-
rinycs in the building and resulted in
fht u.'ath Of seven and injuries that
doubtless will prove fatal to scvera |
others. There was no way Of coping
with the flames which soon spread rap
idv and in less than AN hour after the
cNplnsion occurred. those who were
unable tu escape were in the clutches
If = lire that eventually burned their
bodies Ia ashes. As the day wore on
the great crowd that collected in the
hamrt saw the bodies of men and
womrn roasting in the fire and We're
r,u"rl"sS to even check the flames. The
s; ,f dead and injured follows:
me dead:
William Burke. 80 years old, mar
ricd
.Ialn"s joyce, about 81, married.
Robert Mccarthy. aged IS.
James Wallace married. whose wife
lives in Springfield, Mass.
Molly Mccarthy.
Miss J. Sullivan
Mr.. NJ. e. Tucker.
The injured:
Charles Dimmnck. severe burn. Cx-
1-ctei to die.
Michael Garfield. severe burns. prob
ably will recover.
Michael Mccarthy. severely burned.
Lyman Hull. burns.
Mre. William Burke. probably fatally
burued.
Earle Tuler. burns.
Arthur Tuller, burns.
- Lcdeyt, bruises.
Nellie Garfield, burns and bruises.
Mrs. Fish. severely bruised
Nora Ryan, badly burned about the
ncc! and back.
Mrs Burke is the wife Of VIM. Burke.
VINO is numbered among the dead and
has st.en employed in the factory but
few days.
The exact cause of the accidrut
which caused the loss pf seven lives.
rlav never be known. E'lt it is the az
crptc.l theory here that in an effort to
burm Jut Il stoppagc in one of the ma
chimes James joyce caused an eXplo-
sion of i fuse. with The hot iron he
held in his hand. !ntlammablc ma
f,riaI Dear 10 was set Lire: and in a few
;,rHnelts'. the -'roorr'.S;iS u mass""of
flames. III an instant. there was i
mad rush FOR the doors and windows
ana during the scrlmbi, many Wcra
rushed buck into the building while
cthcrs were severely lurHt Il. The eX-
pIusioH took place in The finishing room
where rhout 20 persons were employed.
There we're but 50 hands at work in the
,Ttirt plant.
For some time il VA; not known how
.slrv were dead. but. tonight an ac-
,nuItimc was made fO' all the employees
WIT seven who's names arc given
..Im,r Many Of til" injured were al-
..ust h.lplcsS aud WCrr carried to their
1"in"s in wagons AMI an immediate caI
vas s,nt out for medical aid.
The rrcnc at the fire WAS hcartrend-
Ing. Friends and relatives of the miss
ing were almost frHnti" when 1t be-
came known that bodies Of these close
To- them wcr' being bIruci to Il crisp
III the ruins Of the farinry.
"A nuc of the walls Cr the second
rer.t buildings fell several bodies
..,rld u, ."cu ,ntanglrI in the mass OF
nu hincry in the basement and III =
..nrt time. They w"r" reduced to ashes
sopn after the building il which the
lives Wcr" lost was Consumed the hre
-irld tn tn" new StruCt ture which was
r..l romrlCt.d at ~ OSt oc 1000 and
ur q fry hours. this building WAS gut
'.l only tn" tour walls remaining. Two
.rs,llcr luildiugs were reduced to ash
~. making j total nf f"nr burned, tn"
.;,,,., ,,4t "a. In