1940 — Nov 28, Natural Gas Explosion & Fire, Gilbert Warehouse, Toppenish, WA — 8
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 10-12-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
— 8 Alaska Miner, Fairbanks. “Warehouse Explosion.” 12-10-1940, p. 16.
— 8 NFPA. “Gas Explosions.” Quarterly, Vol. 43, No. 4, April 1950, p. 293.
Narrative Information
National Fire Protection Association:
“Multiple Occupancy Mercantile, Toppenish, Wash., Nov. 28, 1940.
“Eight persons died when an explosion demolished a multiple occupancy mercantile and storage building in mid-morning. The force of the blast flattened the two-story, 250 ft. long building, and those killed were crushed or trapped in the debris. Fire followed the explosion and those victims who could not be reached immediately were badly burned. Fourteen others received injuries. Evidence indicated that the gas service line to the building had been struck by a road grader working on an alley beside the building. It is believed that the break occurred just inside the foundation wall and the gas accumulated in this space and might have been ignited by a coal burning stove in the basement.” (National Fire Protection Association. “Gas Explosions.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 43, No. 4, April 1950, p. 293.)
Nov 28: “Yakima, Wash., Nov. 28. – (AP) – An unexplained explosion today wrecked the Richey Gilbert warehouse at Toppenish and trapped an undetermined number of persons in the basement. Workers attempting to rescue them reported they could be heard talking. Force of the explosion, thought by rescuers due to escaping gas or dynamite, was so great it blew out all windows in buildings in a radius of over a block from the concrete structure. Telephone messages from Toppenish listed Mr. and Mrs. Fred Klein, manager of the fruit warehouse and his wife, and the bookkeeper, Miss. A. Junkers, as missing.” (Oakland Tribune, CA. “Mystery Explosion Traps Workers.” 11-28-1940, p. D3.)
Nov 28, Alaska Miner: “Nov. 28, – Eight bodies were brought from a flaming warehouse which was wrecked by an explosion shortly before noon. The building housed several stores as well as a packing plant. Several other persons were believed trapped.” (Alaska Miner, Fairbanks. “Warehouse Explosion.” 12-10-1940, p. 16.)
Nov 29, Oakland Tribune: “Toppenish, Wash., Nov. 29. – (AP) – Leaking gas set off by some mysterious spark was blamed today for the devastating explosion and fire which killed at least seven persons yesterday in a warehouse – business building her, and injured 14. An eighth body was sought in the charred ruins. Fire Chief Leo Henle said he was convinced a gas explosion was to blame. ‘They were trapped by debris,’ Henle related, ‘and we could hear their pitiable cries for several minutes after we started fighting the fire which crept closer to them. There was no possible way to rescue them and we could only try to keep the fire from getting to them. They probably died of suffocation and their bodies were charred after death.’
“The blast shook virtually this whole community, on the edge of the Yakima Indian reservation….Survivors told of having smelled gas in the building before the blast. The two-story, 250-foot long Richey-Gilbert potato warehouse also housed five business establishments, largest of which were a hardware store and a café….” (Oakland Tribune, CA. “Yakima Warehouse Explosion, Fatal to 7, Believed Caused by Leaking of Gas.” 11-29-1940, p. D14.)
Sources
Alaska Miner, Fairbanks. “Warehouse Explosion.” 12-10-1940, p. 16. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=67164903&sterm=toppenish
National Fire Protection Association. “Gas Explosions.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 43, No. 4, April 1950, pp. 287-309.
Oakland Tribune, CA. “Mystery Explosion Traps Workers.” 11-28-1940, p. D3. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=32360566&sterm=toppenish
Oakland Tribune, CA. “Yakima Warehouse Explosion, Fatal to 7, Believed Caused by Leaking of Gas.” 11-29-1940, D14. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=32343033&sterm=