The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1917-10-18
BURSTING FLYWHffL
KILLS NIGHT ENGINEER
David McClusky Met Instant Death at
Power Plant-Tons of Flying
Fragments Wreck BOwker
Block and Damage
500 Track

SOO lTdCh
David Taofel McClusky, aged 28
years, night engineer at the power
plant of the Northern States Power
Co., met instant death at 3 o'clock
Wednesday morning when he was
struck by bursting siX-ton fourteen
foot fywheel of the Harrisburg
Flemming engine and direct connect
ing generator. The accident, which
was the worst of it's kind in the his
tory of Minot, occurred at the COM
pany's plant on East Central avenue.
One portion of the immense wheel,
weighing fully thousand pounds, shot
out of the east end of the building like
a cannon ball, tearing hole six feet
in diameter in the brick wall, and went
UP and over the office building of the
Great Northern Lumber Co., landing
on the creosoted block paving in the
street at the corner of East Central
avenue and Third street southeast,
about 80 feet in front of the new u.
B. Bowker block. Here good sized
hole was made in the paving, pieces
of the blocks being scattered about
and the cement footing beneath the
blocks was pulverized as though it was
so much ginger bread. That portion
of the wheel which struck the paving
was evidently broken into several
pieces, two of which struck the cor
ner Of the Bowker block, tearing out
the brick and the brass jacket of the
big display window. The three large
plate glass windows on the west side
of the building were smashed. One
segment of the wheel went through
one of the display windows, making a
good sized hole in the ceiling Of the
vacant store room. Another segment
made hole in the brick wall into the
apartments on the second floor oc-
cupied by Mr.. and Mrs P. O. Mehl.
Pieces Of brick were forced through
the Mehl apartments and their fur
niture and furnishings we're damaged
to the extent of a hundred dollars. Mr.
and Mrs. Mehl naturally were great
ly alarmed over the commotion, but
It all happened so quickly that it was
over before anyone could realize just
what had happened The damage to
the Bowker building is fully $500.
Another section Of the wheel, which
weighed approximately a thousand
pounds, went up throug the roof Of
the plant, thirty feet above the en-
CINE, and travelling in westerly di-
rection, landed on the 500 main track,
800 feet away, bending one of the
rails into the shape of rainbow and
crushing the ties. The 500 trains
were held up for some time until the
track could be repaired. The segment
then broke into three pieces, one of
which travelled westward, striking a
500 box car near the Minot Grocery
Co.'s building.
Several large sections of the wheel
struck the steel girders at the top Of
the power plant and crashed back onto
the floor Of the building Fortunately
the flying sections did not strike any
of the other engines and as they were
running at the time, they carried the
loads Of electricity and the lighting
was not put out of commission, ex-
cept for short time when the engines
were shut down for inspection half
hour or so after the accident occurred.
There was no eye witness to the ac-
cident, the four iremen were working
in an adjoining room at the time.
Hearing the terrific noise, they start
ed out the rear door, but returned
an investigation Gunder Olson is the
chief fireman.
One of the firemen states that the
wrecked engine had not been working
lust right and says but few minutes
before the wheel broke McClusky had
started another engine and was pre-
pairing to do some work on this one. 1t
is presumed that he was standing on
Ioiv
immense wheel, which runs ordinarily
200 revolutions minute, went to
pieces. He was found dead on the
floor Just west of his engine. The en-
tire TOP of his head had been cut off
by the flying fragments as clean as a
surgeon could have done it and many
bones in the mans body were broken,
which makes it appear that he was
struck by other fragments of the
wheel.
The body was taken to Rowan's un-
dertaking parlors.
Roy Draw, the chief engineer, was
soon on the scene and took charge of
clearing away the wreckage Man
ager j. F. Mcclure and others con-
nected with the plant were soon on the
scene. Manager Mcclure ordered the
SuSlllCo SluG uoWH SAe@AAAIiSNA3 INV
ing that not single one of the others
was damaged, and the plant was soor
running again.
A representative Of the Independ-
ent visited the plant early Wednes.
day morning. Chief Draw showed
him portion Of the wheel and stated
that in his opinion it had a flaw in it
but that it was such that it would
have been impossible to detect it prio,
to the accident. The flaw was plainly
y seen, as is the case when an old break
is compared to a new one. The en-.
CINE which was wrecked was one Of
nearly 400 horsepower, capable of gen.
Grating $50 kilowatts Four other en-
gines are left. They are of 400, 15O
ESQ and 80 horsepower respectively,
Roy Moor, another engineer at the
plant, informed the Independent thai
he had been running the engine which
wrecked, during the day time: LIZ