Evening star., 1948-06-24
Federal Experts
obeExp|osiion
AT Winchester
Assistant Manager
Dies After Blost;;
20 Others Injured
By Robert c. RoIIines
S4nr Stnff cnrrsxnondenf c

stor s,aff Correspondent
WINCHESTER. VA, June "a
Experts of the United States Bureau
If Mines today sought to determine
the cause of an explosion yesterday
that resulted in the death of one
man, injured &c and wrecked the
three-story Raylass department
store here.
The victim was Lawrence Owens,
%, assistant manager of the store.
who was in the basement when the
blast shattered the building. EN-
ployes of the store and early morn
ing shoppers were among those in
jured. Three passersby also were
hurt.
Mr.. Owens died in Winchester
Memorial Hospital at TAO pm. with
out regaining consciousness. Among
the hospitalized was Chris Spanos, a
stock clerk, who was with Mr.. Owens
in the basement at the time of the
blast, His condition was listed as
serious today.
IL Under Treatment.
Eleven of the injured remained
in the hospital Most of the in
jured we're employees of the store
on North Loudoun street in the
heart of downtown business district.
The Federal, investigators are c.
W. Owings, mining engineer and
safety expert from Washington. and
George w. Jones, Pittsburgh. a
chemical engineer who aided in the
inquiry of the Texas City disaster.
They arrived on the scene about
4 pm. yesterday. five hours after
the basement explosion blasted out
the first floor; the front of the
store, and the roof of a one-story
rear addition which comprised about
two-thirds of the buildings depth.
The rear wall of the two upper
stories also was blasted away and
the walls of the one-story portion
cracked badly.
Also investigating were State Fire
Marshal A. j. Bell. Harrisonburg;
Fred Saunders, Richmond, repre-
senting the State Corporation Conn
mission; local police and fire insur-
ance underwriters.
A statement from investigators
was not expected until at least to-
morrow.
Mr. Bell said today, however, that
his inspection of the wrecked
building indicated the explosion
was very similar" to one last year
in Harrisonburg, which was at
tributed to gas. Eleven persons were
killed and more than score in
jured in that blast on July 20, 1947.
The fire marshall did not say, how
ever. that gas was the cause of yes
terday's explosion.
Interior Wrecked.
| The interior Of the old brick
structure was wrecked. The force
of the explosion also smashed plate
glass windows in several stores next
door and across the street.
Cause of the explosion was
thought to have been gas seeping
into the basement. A small hole
found in gas pipe appeared to bear
out this theory.
The manager of the gas company.
the Consumers Utilities Co. of Vir-
ginia, said later, however, that an
explosion meter which shows gas
content indicated that there was no
gas present in the pavement or front
walls of the building shortly after
the blast. William Starkey, IS, the
manager, said this led him to believe
that gas was not the cause.
Odor of Gas Detected.
Police 1t Joseph Ritter said the
odor of gas had been detected in the
building Tuesday and again yester-
day morning before the blast. Mr..
Starkey said that the gas company
had been installing a curb valve and
that the pipe in which the hole was
found was one which formerly led
into the store but which had been
capped off" when it was decided
to utilize another line.
The Winchester City Council
ordered the curb valve installations
| throughout town as a result of the
Harrisonburg explosion.
| Few customers were In the store
yesterday when the explosion oc-
Cured
| A small blaze in the basement
which followed the explosion, was
extinguished quickly by the fire de-
partment.
In addition to Mr.. Spanos, the fol-
lowing were in the hospital today:
/ Mrs. Ollie Kirby, 35, Inwood, w.
Va, internal injuries and leg frac-
ture: Mrs. Bertha Bumgartner, so,
Martinsburg, w. Va, internal in
juries: Mrs. Bertha Swisher, 81, VIM
chester, leg fracture; Mrs. Sarah
McIlwee, 38, Winchester, back in
. jury; Mrs. Dehlia johnson. possible
leg fractures, and Mrs. Stella Hook
man, 40; Mrs. Catherine MacFar-
; land, TO- Mrs. Vallie Hileman, 81:
, her daughter, Miss Madeline Hile-
. man, II, and Mrs. June Clowser, 20,
, all OF Winchester, who were said to
, be not serious.
Released After Treatment.
The following were released after
treatment.
Mrs. Esther Williams, Mrs. Lor-
ing White, Emerson Cook, Miss
Martha Richardson, Mrs. Paul An
| derson, all of Winchester, and Mr..
, and Mrs. Thomas H. johnson, Cum
, berland: Miss Lucy Lowers, Parkers-
, burg, w. Va. and Miss Betty Lewis,
/ Cross Junction, Va.
The hospital reported that Mrs.
Colleen Owens. wife Of the assistant
store manager, collapsed when she
was told that her husband had been
injured, and was admitted for
treatment for shock.