Buffalo, New York
Kelker Blower Company Explosion
January 24, 1916
Several Are Missing Following Buffalo
Explosion
FIRE BREAKS OUT IN RUINS
Believe Gas, Used in Welding Department of
Blower Plant, Was Responsible for Accident
By Associated Press
Buffalo, N. Y. Jan. 24 – Four persons are
known to have been killed, several are missing
and four were injured in a explosion late today
that wrecked the plant of the Kelker Blower
company, manufacturers of planing mill exhausts
and ventilators, on Harrison street.
CHARLES KELKER,
head of the firm said that from 22 to 25
employes were in the plant and that 21 of them
had been accounted for.
The known dead are:
MISS MABEL CHANDLER, 17 years old,
stenographer; CHARLES
PABST, 18 years old, teamster; two
unidentified men.
The injured are: MRS.
HELEN KELKER, 45 years old, wife of
CHARLES KELKER,
both legs blown off, probably will die;
ELMER WILLIAM,
16 years old, cut and bruised;
JAMES KEMMER,
46 years old, ear torn off, scalp wounds;
STANLEY KONIECZNY,
21 years old, chest crushed; will recover.
Fire Follows Explosion.
The building occupied by the firm was a long
two-story frame structure, the first floor and
basement of which were used for the machine
shop, and the second floor as a storeroom and
living apartments. The explosion demolished all
the walls, letting the roof down on the ruins,
which caught fire. Pieces of the foundation were
thrown hundreds of feet and the concussion
smashed nearly every window glass within the
radius of a block.
Within 3 feet of the Kelker plant is one of the
largest East Side grammar schools. About fifteen
hundred boys and girls were thrown into a
temporary panic, but the teachers quickly
marched them to the street.
Blown Through Door
CHARLES KELKER
and his two sons,
JOHN and ALBERT J.,
were in the machine shop when the explosion
occurred. One of the boys was blown through an
open door, while the others were taken from the
wreckage. All escaped with a few bruises.
MR. KELKER was uncertain as to the cause of the
explosion. Gas was used in several forms in the
welding department and was kept in retainers in
the basement. He estimated the financial loss at
$50,000.
The flames were extinguished in less than an
hour and firemen began searching the ruins. At
nightfall only two bodies had been taken out but
two others could be seen under piles of broken
machinery.
Gazette and Bulletin, Williamsport, PA 25
Jan 1916
Transcribed by
Cheryl. Thank you,
Cheryl!
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