Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1917-01-13
Northern New Jersey in Panic
by Catastrophe Coming So
Close After Disaster at
KingSIand Factory.
SHOCK IS SEVERE 20
MILES FROM SCENE
-Four Hundred Thousand
Pounds of Powder Is De-
Stroyed and Buildings Are
Badly Shattered.


New York, Jan. 12.-Four hundred
stroyed by fire and explosion at the
Haskell, N. j., plant of the du Pont
Powder company at $50 o'clock to-
night Officials of the company de
clared after checking up the members
of the night shift at the works, that
only two men were missing. Twelve
others were cut by flying debris but
none of them was seriously hurt. No
estimate of the loss was obtainahle,
There were two distinct explosion,
the force of which was terrific. Build
ings were shaken and windows shat
tered far out on Long Island and up
the Hudson river to Poughkeepsie,
The first explosion was in what is
known as "the glazing barrel The
fire which resulted spread quickly to
the blending house, and from there to
three magazines. One of the maga
zines blew up but the powder in tho
others was consumed by the flames
Fire Spreads Quickly.
The blazing magazines set fire to
the screening house, from which tn
er and consumed three drying houses
on the other side, At this side the fire
was checked by efforts of the COM
pany's employees.
other buildings in the plant and
many in the village, which was built
in a semi-circe around the works,
were shattered by the force of the
conclusion, which was by far the most
severe ever experienced at Haskell. 1t
is feared that two men who were
employed in the glazing barrel lost
their lives. All the doctors available
were sumoned, as were the franciscan
brothers from Butler, some distance
away.
Haskell is situated in a remote sec
tion of Passaic county and communi-
cation with 1t, either by telephone or
ceased after the first ex-
plosion AS a consequence, reports of
heavy loss of life soon were circulated
in nearby places.
Jersey People in Panic.
Following closely upon the heels of
the destruction of the Kingsland plant
of the Canadian Car and Foundry
the explosion threw all
northern New Jersey into a panic.
The sky was crimsoned by the confla-
grafton and the flames were plainly
visible as far away as Yonkers.
The shock of the explosion was so
great that many persons in New York,
Brooklyn and New Jersey cities, twen-
ty miles from Haskell, believed there
had been an earthquake. Strangely
the concussion seemed to be
less severe short distance from Has
kell.
Guards employed by the company
and police who were summoned from
nearby towns, established ''deadline"
several hundred yards from the blaz-
ing buildings and would permit no one
to pass. Hundreds of persons, how
ever, climbed nearby hills from which
they viewed the conflagration.
Roads leading into Haskell in all
directions soon were filled with con-
veyances of every kind, carrying ply
nurses, policemen and fire
men. Terror r-stricken women living
in nearby communities, whose hus-
bands were employed at Haskell,
made frantic efforts to force their way
past the guards and it was long after
the explosions before they were con-
vinced that few, if any, perished.
Every house in the village of Pomp-
ton lake, more than two miles from
was damaged by the explo-
sion. At the Pompton Lake hotel,
he floors buckled and the guests ran
10 the street in alarm. Guards were
stationed around the bank and the
postoffice as precaution against
thieves.