Norwich bulletin., 1909-12-02
Boiler Explosion
 s25O, 900 Damage
CAUSE UNKNOWN, AS FIREMAN
 WAS KILLED.
SHELTON SHAKEN LAST NIGHT
Disaster at Plant of the Radcliffe Bro-
 thers' WooIen MiIls-Three Hundred
 Employees. Mostly Girls, Made Idle.

Ion LudI SHOOK SneitOn ana the sur rounding country to the foundations occurred shortly after six o'clock to- night. when a boiler in the plant Of the Radcliffe Brothers wooden mills blew up, killing an assistant firemen, Joseph Deptula, and doing damage es- timated at between S2O,000 and $250,- 900. The reason for the exploding of the boiler is unknown, and will prob ably remain mystery, as Deptula was the only man in the room at the time. The boiler which exploded was locat- ed with two others in a brick build ing TWO stories high, which was also used by the dyeing and bleaching de- partments of the factory. This build Ing was blown to pieces and a high brick chimney standing next to the boiler house knocked down, some of the bricks from the latter being blown a distance of half mile. The dye ing and bleaching machinery was twisted and broken, and the two boil CTS standing next to the one that blew up covered with debris of the build ing. Underneath this was found the body of Deptula, badly mangled and almost unrecognizable. Fire broke out soon after the explosion and was extinguished before it gained head way.
 Other Property Damaged.
 A second building of the Radcliffe Brothers, four-story brick structure, standing next to the boiler house. re- ceived the full force of the explosion, which blew out all the windows. The machinery used for the manufacture of underwear and hosiery and quite valuable was bent and twisted and thrown around the floors, rendering it's further use impossible. A five-story brick building belonging to the same company and standing south of the boiler house. suffered in a like man. ner. The water pipes in these two buildings were sprung by the force of the explosion and the fire sprinkler system put in action. The buildings were flooded with water before it could be turned off and the havoc that was started by the explosion was com- .pleted by the water, which ruined the stock of raw material and the finished product in the shipping room The damage to the finished stock is rough ly estimated at over S1o0,000.
 A large brick building adjoining the Radcliffe Brothers plant. used as a manufactcry by the Huntington Piano company, suffered severely from the explosion. The windows were blown in, window frames started, and the machinery and floors covered with cotton yarn and woolen from the hos iery mill c. V. Cafe, secretary of the, piano company, was sitting at his desk, near one of the windows, when the explosion occurred, and was bad ly cut about the face and head by flying glass.
 Part of Town in Darkness.
 The plant of the Whitlock Prainting Press Manufacturing company. which stands near the Radcliffe mills, also had all the windows broken and its machinery displaced by the explosion. ri f01 fY, 0f k, mills were broken, plunging that part of the town into darkness. making the work of the firemen and those digging for the body of Deptula hazardous Whether the walls of the Piano and Whitlock buildings were damaged could not be ascertained tonight on account of the darkness.
 Two pulleys weighing three hundred pounds each were blown from the building where the boilers were locat- ed, one of them going over the roofs of the houses and landing in the street where there was fortunately no one walking at the time. The second pull ley was blown over the adjoining house and landed on the roof of the home of Nicholas Larkin, smashing the roof and falling into the yard, a distance of 200 feet from where it started. The streets were filled with stone and bricks and wool from the mills and broken glass from the windows of houses and stores, there being hardly a whole pane of glass within several hundred feet of the scene of the ex- plosion. Goods on the shelves and counters in the stores were shaken to the floors, lamps were overturned, causing many narrow escapes from serious fires.
 Only Three Men in Factory at Time.
 At the time of the explosion there were only three men in the factory, William Tyre, a night watchman, a man by the name of Dennis, and the assistant fireman Frye was blown into pile of woolen waste, escaping injury. In telling of his experience he said that he came into the factory to go to work a few minutes before the explosion took place. As was his cus- tom, he went into the boiler room and looked at the steam gauge. which reg istered eighty pounds, and saw that the water gauges showed the boilers to be two-thirds full. of water. When he left the room Deputla was putting oa his coat, preparatory to leaving for the night. On leaving the boiler room he closed the door and had gone but a few feet into the adjoining room when the explosion took place, throwing him waste, where h was later found unin- jured. Doubtful if Cause Will Ever Be
 Known.
 The cause of the explosion could not be ascertained tonight, and it Is very doubtful if it ever will be The boiler that exploded was found to have been hattened out, while the other two seem- ed to be in good condition The boiler was put in about a year ago and was inspected ill the spring. and has had several inspections by the superintend- ent of the Radcliffe Brothers.
 The exact amount of money loss could not be determined tonight, but with the loss on finished goods and the various factories it is thought that it will be at least $200,000. It will be sometime before new machinery can be installed in the Radcliffe mills. and in the meantime the three hundred em- ployes, mostly girls. will be idle.
 Derby Felt the Shock.
 Derby Conn. Dee 1.-The explosion of the boiler in the factory of Rad- cliffe Brothers in Shelton tonight shook this place up thoroughly and broke many panes of glass in the houses and stores of the town. No one was in- jured. '-+7
 h. Nick. Twombly Seriously III.
 New York, Dec. 1.-Hamilton Mex. Twombly. director of many of the com