The Washington times., 1923-09-21
n 0 n { BLAMED
IN NBUREAU
BLAST
Coroner Announces Verdict Of
Accident Officials Start
Own Inquiry.
CONTINUED from First Page.)

Continued from First Page.)
hospital had despaired Of saving his
life from the beginning.
) Roger BirdsaIl, 2409 Brown street
northwest who was engaged in fe
search work at the bureau for the
Association Of AutomotiVe Engi-
fleers. is burned and crushed.
Others who were injured in the
explosion are:
Clarence ". Elliott, assistant engi-
neer, 739 Twelfth street northwest.
f. e. Richardson, OF apartment SO8
Falkstone courts.
Curtis NJ. Smith, electrician, 1876
Wisconsin avenue northwest.
Herbert K. Cummings. associate
physicist, AT Raymond street, Chevy
Chase.
Robert F. Kohr, associate mechan-
ical engineer, 170S Newton street
northwest.
The exact cause Of the explosion
probably viii never be known. All
the men who were IN position to
see what happened, are dead. The
others who were in the building
were not close enough to the
dynamometer chamber to know
what occurred.
AAlNC6sA&DOOs
Bureau of Standards explosive ex-
perts are going over every inch Of
the alright chamber. They hope to
locate the exact spot where the ex-
plosion originated, and then, by de-
ductive reasoning, arrive at its
cause.
What happened, theoretically, is
this: An aeroplane engine vas run.
ming in the chamber. The ofeseure
had been reduced in the vault, SO
that the engine was running under
actual flying conditions. The gas
from the 1ngine's exhaust was car
ried out to the side, where 1t was
being discharged.
In some manner. at present un.
known, this exhaust gas, containing
a high percentages Of the COM
bustible carbon monoxide gas, was
ignited. The resulting explosion
wrecked the reinforced concrete
sides Of the chamber and destroyed
valuable. apparatus in the labo ra-
tory.
It was explained that the test
going on at the time was one to
determine the amount Of exapora-
tion of gasoline in an airplane
engine. The Government experts
gallons Of gasoline through the ex-
perfments which caused the four
men TO lose their lives. The engines
of the Fri, the big navy dirigible
which only recently made its sue
cessful maiden voyage, were tested
in the chamber which yesterday
was the scene of the explosion.
Heroic work on the part of eu1-
ployes of the bureau saved the in
jured from being burned to death
from the blaze that followed tho
explosion. Hand fire extinguisEaers
were called into play with such
success that when the firemen got
there, the fire was under control.
Some Of the employees of the lab
oratory had their clothing literally
burned off. One man, believed to
have been one Of those who died
was hurled through a window more
than seventy feet. Lauer's body
was not discovered until half an
hour after the explosion. Ffremen
came across 1t when they were
clearing away the debris.
Though employees who picked IN
Lauers body said that he was dead
some one in authority ordered thai
he be rushed to the Emergency
Hospital. Physicians there said he
had been dead more than half an
hour.
DR.. George X. Burgess, director
OF the bureau, will head an, official
inquiry for the Government. While
it. is not believed that the accident
was caused by any ones negligence,
the Government, it was explained,
wants to get at the facts in order
that repetition OF the tragedy may
be avoided DAMAGE to the IahoIsa
tory VIII not be more than $4,000,
LIS burgess stated '.a-.s.-