The sun., 1918-10-05
BLAST
ROCKS COAST;
TROOPS SENT
Accident Occurs as Thou
sands Work i'm Gillespie
CUmpany's Plant.
800 TO 500 ARE HURT
Other Explosions Follow Dur
ing Night and Entire $18,-
100000 Plant in Peril.

Four of the units included in the man.
moth shell loading plant Of the T. A.
Gillespie Company at MorRan's Station.
y. j., two. miles south of South Amboy.
were destroyed last night by an explo-
sion that rocked the Jersey coast as
though it were shaken by an earth
quake. and early this morning IL was
known that at1least 100 persons had
been killed and from 800 to 500 work
ers injured. The great plant. estimated
to be worth 5000, 900. was still slowly
burning carly to-day and there were
fears that it might be entirely wiped out
Some conjectures as to the numzer or
dead went as high as 400. but accurate
information regarding the actual figures
could not be obtained, as the officials
declined to make statement 1t was
said that nothing would be given out
officially for several days. Explosions
continued at intervals up to O'Clock A.
NJ: an especially violent one occurred
shortly after o'clock. Troops were
rushed to the plant from various nearby
camps all during the night.
Another Explosion Occurs.
Another explosion, fully as violent as
any, occurred at 2:3o A. NJ. when
another unit at the plant was destroyed.
The building caught fire some time be-
fore the detonation and soldiers and
company guards were ordered to leave
the vicinity. Debris fell over wide
area and plate glass windows were
broken in South Amboy and Perth
Amboy.
The fire was not under control at
o'clock A. N. Another building, filled
with IL inch shells. was threatened and
was expected TO go before morning. Res
idents OF South Amboy were abandoning
their homes. Two thousand OF them had
gone TO Perth Amboy by > 80 o'clock.
and thousands more TO other towns out
of the danger zone.
The plant consisted of nineteen build
! ings, or units. OF which seven were in
| operation and twelve ready for occu-
/ pancy. Each unit consisted OF build
! ing $50 feet long by seventy-five feet
wide, OF frame construction, rooted with
! corrugated iron. The buildings ranged
from one to two stories in height. About
| them was mushroom town. built for
the workers. containing more than a
hundred dwelling shacks, with moving
picture shows and other means OF en-
| tertainment for the workers
! A total Of 1000 workers were en-
gagged in the seven buildings and the
night shift was just about to take its
place at 7:i0 O'Clock. While there were
many women engaged in the buildings,
they worked only during the day and the
last woman had departed at o'clock
in the afternoon. Hardly had the
night workers started for their toll
when 1000 pounds OF INT. the high
explosive with which shells are charged,
exploded with a great roar in Unit
Gil.
Panic Instantly Follows.
There Was instant panic 1t was sup
posed that a type OF shell known as a
booster" had gone of, starting the
general fire. Before the workers in the
unit could escape the building was a
mass of roaring flames, with loud and
frequent explosions and heavy detona'
tions coming within fifteen minutes OF
each other. In rapid succession Units
6l-2. I'LL and 7l2 caught fire and
added the force of their miniature earth
quakes 20 the awful din
| Only the fact that the day force was
just leaving the building and the full
night crew had not arrived prevented
the loss of life from reaching a total thai
would have been many times the actua
result.
AS the immediate damage stood al
of the buildings within a radius of 20t
yards were destroyed. and then the fire
began spreading to the other buildings
Firemen both from the plant force anc
from all of the nearby towns were un
able TO reach the flames because of thu
danger and the work OF coping with tn,
situation was slow and ineffective.
So great was the detonation tina
windows within a radius OF five mile
were broken. and the lights OF a passing
guished. Marines. infantry, naval re
serves and members OF the Coast Guart
were hastily rushed to handle the situa
tion.
1900 Soldiers Sent.
When the army Officers and engineer.
on duty at the plant found that tn,
workmen could not cope with the sit
uation and that the local guards wer'
, not sufficient they telephoned to Cam
! Vail, near Long Branch, " ]. Tn,
6 Camp Vail officers sent 1900 soldieri
, and many physicians and ambulance
20 the scene. With a dead line estab
lished mile from the plant and sentrie
holding inquirers AT hay. there was al
utter lack OF detailed information con
2 cerping what had taken place at tn,
plant, The Gillespie firm. which ha
: offices in Gillespie, a short distanc,
! Continued on Third Page.