New Britain herald., 1927-10-21
(. H. Clark Burned in West End Repair Sta- ton When Fuel Con- tainer Explodes.
Employees Push Blazing Car Off Pr0strate Man Damage Estimated at Several Thousand Dol. lars.

trapped beneath an autom obile on which he was working. CharIea Il. Clark Of 204 Hart street, pro- prietor of Clark's Auto Electric and Repair shop in the basement at 409 West Main street, might have been burned to death when the car took lire shortly after 2 o'clock this forenoon. He was drilling into the bottom Of the gasoline tank and i, Is though a spark. either from the electric drill or from the friction of the drill against the tank, ignited the gasoline. With a roar. flames enveloped the automobile and a, Bernard Silkie, an employe of MT. Clark. and others who were in the place, pushed the car. MT. Clark scrambled from his precarious posi- ton and fortunately escaped with burns on both hands which, while painful. are not considered serious. He was attended by Dr. Carl J. Hart and went from the latters office 10 the scene of, the fire, assuming charge of the salvaging of the dam- aged equipment.
 Several Thousand Dollars Loss
 The fire that spread throughout the shop made it's way into tho salesroom of the Lash Motor Co., di- rectly above and caused some dam age as the firemen found it neces- sary to use axes to open the way into the wall, where scorchng fire was breaking through. Although Second Deputy Fire Chief NJ. T. Souney who was in charge of the flremen, would not estimate the amount of the damage, it is believed it will amount to several thousands of doll2rs. The Clark shop was flooded by water and valuable tools and electric equipment damaged. The automobile in which the fire started had the upholstery burned away and another automobile, which was pushed out Of the shop. was damaged. Several other cars which were in for repairs, suffered water damage.
 Mir. Clark, In ar interview on his return from Dr. Hart's office. said the fire started so quickly he had no chance to do anything except to crawl out from underneath the car. where he was lying on the floor. He could not estimate the extent of the damage as he had not had time to make an inspection of the shop. but fremen and others familiar with such matters, were of the opinion that considerable amount of equipment which was water soaked. could be salvaged If attended to be- fore 1t rusted.
 Interior of Shop Ablaze
 At s:22 o'clock Co. No. 4 of the fire department was called by a "still' alarm, and on arrival. Cap tain James Grove ordered other companies summoned. as the inter- for of the shop was mass of flames.
 The shop being in the basement of the building, the fire was not Nis- ible from West Main street. Louis Sablotsky, a salesman in the employ of the Lash Motor Co.,. rang Box ll3 at West Main and Lincoln streets at 9:2s o'clock, bringing No. l hose company. No. l ladder company and No. hose company. Lines of hose were laid and the shop was drench- ed with water. Containers of grease and motor oils In one corner did not take fire, and the metal covering on the ceiling resisted long enough to prevent the flames from burning through to the Lash salesrooms. A brick wall separates the building from that in which the Brooks Drug Co.,, and the New Britain Dry Clean ing corporation are located. Had the flames spread into this building there might have been a serious fire. as there is a considerable amount of highly infammable material within reach.
 Along the north wall Of the building the flames barely broke through to the salesrooms. Two new cars on display were driven out and were not damaged, In the office there was some water damage and the entire interior had some smoke damage. The building Is own ed by the New Britain Dry Cleaning corporation and has only one floor and the basement.