Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1918-07-03
IS KILLED
200 HURT
IN BLAST
Syracuse, N. Y, Shaken by
Two Explosions in War Pow
der Plant Near City;
Flames Out of Control.
By Associated Press.

NY oSADNs Ave = - oNAJ -
least 16 persons were killed
and 200 injured and the huge
plant of the Semet-Solvay COM
pany, at Split Rock, near here,
virtually wrecked by two ex-
plosions of trinitrotuluol at
$50 o'clock tonight.
Terrific conclusions from the
explosions of the war powder
rocked large business buildings
in the center of this city,
smashed the plate glass WIN
dows and caused panic in the
residential district.
The explosion followed a fire that
had raced beyond control and spread
to the IT. N: T." watts.
Two let go, burying workers under
an avalanche of debris and scattered
the gAames to adjoining buildings.
Water System Fails.
At a late hour tonight the flames
were burning fiercely and there was
constant danger OF more explosions.
Volunteer hremen were powerless.
Aid was sent from Syracuse, but at
midnight the water system broke
down.
Five hundred workers were in the
pla.it when the fire broke out. Its
origin has not been ascertained. The
workers fought the flames and when
they ran to safety were caught in the
first explosion. ..
Men were hurled in all directions.
Two. caught between burning build
I ings, were blown through a wall. Still
alive when picked up, there was not
a shred Of clothing on their bodies.
The second explosion followed Is
minutes after the first. The two crurn-
p1ed buildings in the vicinity. Homes
Of workmen across the road from the
plant collapsed. Burning timbers were
blown to the roofs Of buildings across
the railroad tracks which divide the
plant.
Families Flee Across Fields.
The families fed across fields in
confusion. A woman, hystericai, car
ried a tiny kitten clutched to her
breast.
James Russo and Arthur c. Good
fellow were analyzing samples in the
plant when the cry of "fre" called
them to building No. /. Goodfellow
tells this story:
Russo grabbed a hose and tried
10 help. Smoke was thick and we
could not see. Little explosions kept
letting go inside the building. There
wasn't enough water to be Of any use.
"We knew that big explosion was
coming, and we ran. Just as we
reached the foot of the hill the blast
let go. 1t knocked us both fiat on our
faces" =
A telephone message from Split
Rock brought the first word Of the
accident to the city. 1t reached police
headquarters in the form of a request
for all the ambulances. The shock of
the explosion, a few minutes earlier
had tied UP all the telephone lines,
causing a delay before the ambu-
lances were on the way.
Flames Spreading.
Both fire and explosions, accord
ing to workmen who escaped, were
confined to the east side of tteAplant,
which is made up of about IS build
ings, including the Offices and labor
ltories.
There are three of the "T. N. T."
plants, in one of which the flames
originated. Next to them are six plants
n which nitric acid is handled. Be-
Fond them only 100 yards away are
our plants in which picric acid is
handled. All of these clustered to-
yether on Jhe south side of the rail-
-oad tracks.
At midnight ths flames had eaten
INTO the picric acid plants and were
making slow headway toward the
giant tanks of oleum.
Most OF the small explosions were
iue, according to workmen, to the
contact of flames with small nitre-
hers" or pulverizers.