1968 — April 6, Gas & Gunpowder Explosions and Fires, Marting Arms, Richmond, IN–41
— 41 Kellner, Esther. Death in A Sunny Street. 1968, p. 17.
— 41 National Fire Protection Association. Key Dates in Fire History. 1996.
— 41 NFPA. “Explosion: 41 Killed.” Fire Journal, Vol. 62, No. 5, Sep 1968, p. 7.[1]
— 41 NFPA. “The Major Fires of 1968.” Fire Journal, Vol. 63, No. 3, May 1969, p. 12.
— 41 Wikipedia. “Richmond, Indiana Explosion.”
Narrative Information
Kellner: “…more than a city block had been leveled.” (24) “The flames spread, leaping from building to building, even across the street…firemen fighting the huge conflagration had to crouch low to keep from being hit by the shells exploding in the ruins of Marting Arms.” (25) “A little girl on her way to buy new Easter slippers died in the street.” (26) “…Vigran’s [variety] and Holthouse Furniture…exploded into roaring flames and billowing smoke…It was a busy Saturday and the store [Vigran’s], a popular one, was full of customers. All were killed” (Kellner, Esther. Death in A Sunny Street. 1968, p. 39.)
NFPA: “Improperly stored gunpowder has been blamed for the explosion that together with an ensuing fire killed 41 people and destroyed 15 buildings in the downtown area of Richmond, Indiana, on April 6. The actual initiator of the explosion is not known, but investigators have been able to trace the origin of the explosion to the basement of the Marting Arms store, where an unknown quantity of gunpowder estimated between 500 pounds and 2,000 pounds was stored. The retail store specialized in firearms, ammunition, loading components for reloading small arms ammunition, and other sporting goods equipment.” (NFPA. “The Major Fires of 1968.” Fire Journal, Vol. 63, No. 3, May 1969, p. 12.)
Wikipedia: “The Richmond, Indiana explosion was a double explosion which occurred on April 6, 1968 in downtown Richmond, Indiana. The explosions killed 41 people and injured more than 150. The primary explosion was due to natural gas leaking from one or more faulty transmission lines under a building housing a firearms store; the secondary explosion was due to gunpowder stored in the building.” (Wikipedia. “Richmond, Indiana Explosion.”)
Sources:
Kellner, Esther. Death in A Sunny Street: The Civil Defense Story of the Richmond, Indiana Disaster, April 6, 1968. Warfel, Inc. 1968, 123 pages. Accessed at: http://gates.mrl.lib.in.us:8080/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/fulltext&CISOPTR=1981&REC=1&CISOSHOW=1980
National Fire Protection Association. “Explosion: 41 Killed.” Fire Journal, Vol. 62, No. 5, September 1968, pp. 5-9 and 31.
National Fire Protection Association. Key Dates in Fire History. 1996, 2010. Accessed at: http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=1352&itemID=30955&URL=Research%20&%20Reports/Fire%20statistics/Key%20dates%20in%20fire%20history&cookie%5Ftest=1
National Fire Protection Association. “The Major Fires of 1968.” Fire Journal, Vol. 63, No. 3, May 1969, pp. 12-14.
Wikipedia. “Richmond, Indiana Explosion.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond,_Indiana_explosion
[1] At the time of writing it was noted: “Thirty-nine people perished in the blast. Two are missing and presumed dead – Donald Marting and an employee of Vigran’s Variety Store.”