Pumping Station at DeSoto wrecked by explosion; station co-owned by Hemingray Glass Co.

WRECKED BY an EXPLOSION

Pumping Station of Manufacturers' Gas Company Located in

DeSoto, Blew Up at 7:45 o'clock this Morning — Building Burn­ed

Down Entailing Loss of $40,000.

ENGINEER AND ASSISTANT WERE SERIOUSLY BURNED

This morning shortly after 8 o'clock the pumping station of the Manufacturers' Gas company, located at DeSoto eight miles northeast of Muncie, was wrecked by an explosion and destroyed by a fire, that resulted. Burt Lee, engineer of the plant, and Elmer Newkirk. assistant, were seriously, perhaps fatally injured. Newkirk, so it was said this morning, cannot recover.

The pumping station was jointly by the American Window Glass and Hemingray companies. It was completed last fall at a cost of $40,000 which does not include additional connections, pipings, etc. The company carried no accident insurance. The loss can only be estimated but it will be heavy. It will require an expert exami­nation of the big engines and compres­sors to determine the loss.

The exact cause of the explosion is a mystery. There were orders against fire in the station. Light was furnished by incandescent lamps.

As a result of the explosion and fire the Hemingray factory and Window House No. 10 were closed down today. By special arrangements with the American Sheet Steel company and Ball Brothers, both concerns secured enough gas to keep the glass warm to­day. There is a probability that both will start tonight with gas furnished by the Sheet Steel company.

THE EXPLOSION

While the two men mentioned were at work m the station this morning one of the main plugs in one of the gas compressors blew out and Lee ran to close down the engines. The power was shut off and the ponderous engines came to a standstill. At this moment there was an explosion which lifted the buildings from their foundations and hurled them northward. The men rushed out and those who happened to be near came running to the scene of the disaster.

Lee and Newkirk were badly burned as was seen at a glance and were hurriedly taken to the home of the former, a short distance from the plant. Dr. Simmons was summoned and the cloth­ing of the men removed. There was not a particle of skin on their bodies that was not burned. The sight was horrible.

Meanwhile the debris from the building caught on fire and, being of timber was soon consumed. The valuable machinery contained therein was warped and twisted by the heat.

WHAT THE MEN SAY.

A Times representative was soon on the scene and visited the rooms in the home of Lee, where both men are lying. Newkirk was the worse injured of the two. His body is completely swathed in bandages and linseed oil was poured over him. His face was covered with cloths, nothing being visible but his nostrils and eyes. Lee is in almost as bad condition but was able to talk of the affair. He said:

"The explosion occurred at 8 o'clock. One of the main plugs in the compressor blew out and we stopped the engines immediately. Suddenly there was an explosion and the building was blown to pieces. We ran out and were taken here.

"The only thing that I can think of that caused the explosion of the gas was friction in the gasometer. This evidently gave out a spark and set off the gas. It occurred so quickly that we hardly realized what happened."

Newkirk was in such a condition that he was hardly able to talk. His story of the affair could not be secured for that reason. When the explosion occured people came from everywhere. Houses were shaken for miles around and it appeared that those who resided a mile or more distant felt the shock more than the residents of the town. The fire which followed ap­prised all as to the damage.

Dr. Simmons, the physician in charge of the two injured men thinks he will be able to save the lives of both men. Mr. Ralph Hemingray has sent to In­dianapolis for trained nurses and left instructions that no expense be spared in providing for every comfort of the men.

Lee is a married man, aged 37 years and resides in DeSota [sic] De Soto. At his bedside was his wife and other members of the family. Newkirk is also married and resides in Sharon, about one mile north. His wife was sent for and was assisting in the care of her husband.

The pumping station watt protected by a frame building sixty by ninety feet in dimensions. Those who were attracted to the scene of the explosion say that the two longer walls were blown outward The frame work was burning fiercely in the gas flame when the town people arrived.

The destruction of the building was complete. The two big compressors and the two gas engines now stand erect but useless. The machinery was the best that can be bought for the purpose. But the damage to it can not be told until it has cooled and been examined.

A large gas territory was made profitable by the station. In this field the pressure is low, so low that the failed to force the gas into Muncie of its own accord during the cold weather of last year. The condition of the field scarcely warrants a rebuilding of the station. So the explosion and fire not only de­stroys a pumping station but practically lessens the value of a large gas territory.

It is said that the Manufacturers' company put between $40,000 and $60,000 in the De Sota [sic] De Soto plant. But the loss will be much greater than represented by the actual loss to building and ma­chinery.