A chemical factory explosion in West Hoboken, New Jersey, turned a city street into chaos in March 1922.
When tanks of ether suddenly exploded inside Dr. Paul Gallo’s factory, the blast tore through the building and hurled chemist’s assistant Noah Cafaro an estimated 50 feet. Witnesses said Cafaro shot through a window, crossed the full width of Palisade Avenue, and flew through the open doorway of a building on the opposite side of the street.
His clothing was on fire as he sailed through the air, leading witnesses to describe him as blazing “like a comet.”
The explosion shattered windows for more than a block, forced nearby families from their homes, and filled the neighborhood with ether fumes so strong that firefighters and bystanders collapsed in the streets.
Blast Hurls Chemist Across Street Like a Blazing Rocket
The entire stock of ether in tanks on the premises of Dr. Paul Gallo’s chemical factory in West Hoboken, New Jersey, exploded without warning yesterday, wrecking the interior of the plant and blowing Noah Cafaro, assistant to the chemist, a distance of 50 feet.
Cafaro, who was at work in the front of the factory, was hurled through a window the full width of Palisade Avenue and through the open door of a building directly opposite. He was severely burned.
West Hoboken
The force of the explosion shattered windows for more than a block in the vicinity of the factory and caused a panic among occupants of houses in the neighborhood, who rushed to the street and defied efforts of the police to restore order.
Several firemen who attempted to enter the partly wrecked building were overcome by ether fumes and rescued with difficulty. So strong was the admixture of ether in the air that many were overcome and efforts of firemen were directed to restoring them.
Houses within the radius of a block were rendered uninhabitable. Several families, after having returned to their homes, again were compelled to evacuate until firemen had opened windows and guaranteed safety.
Because considerable quantities of the dangerous vapor had found its way into cellars, policemen ordered that no gas stoves or other fires be lighted in adjacent houses until all had been visited.
The explosion is believed to have been due to leakage of a tank, which escaped unnoticed because in a factory of the kind there is always more or less from the compounding of materials.
Cafaro, who was in front of the factory, blazed like a comet, witnesses declared, when he shot through the air after being projected through an open window. Before the blaze in his garments could be extinguished he had suffered injuries which may possibly prove fatal.
Scores of persons were overcome by gas, staggering drunkenly and in many cases falling.
Source: New-York Tribune. New York, N.Y. March 29, 1922.
