1980 — July 24, Explosion and Fire, Vogue Metal Crafts, Metgal Manufac., Queens, NY–11

— 11  NFPA. “Recent Multi-Fatality Fires,” US Congress, House. Boarding Home Fires, 71-73.

— 11  National Fire Protection Association. The 1984 Fire Almanac. 1983, p. 139.

— 11  New York Times. “$11 Million Accord in Fatal Plant Fire.” 3-7-1985.

 

Narrative Information

 

July 25, AP: “New York (AP) – Four workers were killed and 40 injured, 11 of them critically, in an explosion Thursday in the chemical-filled basement of two metal fabricating companies, authorities said.  Sixteen firefighters and four paramedics were treated for smoke inhalation from a fire triggered by the blast. Fire marshals were investigating the possibility that the explosion erupted when an electric welder being used to install bars on basement windows emitted sparks near the chemicals….Officials said three people were dead at the site in Queens – the Vogue Metal Craft Co. and the Metgal Novelty Manufacturing Co….A fourth factory worker, who suffered second- and third-degree burns over 80 percent of the body, died at the burn center at New York Hospital…12 factory employees [were ] admitted to the burn center.  Of the 12, seven were admitted with burns over 80 percent of their bodies… The explosion at 1:40 p.m. sparked a fire that was confined to the basement and brought under control within 45 minutes…”  (Associated Press. “Explosion Kills 4,” Syracuse Post-Standard, NY. 7-25-1980, A-3.)

 

July 28, AP: “New York (AP) – The death toll has reached eight in the aftermath of an explosion that ripped through a Queens factory last week.” (Associated Press., “Explosion Claims Eighth Fatality,” Indiana Evening Gazette, Indiana, PA, 7-28-1980.)

 

March 7, 1985, NYT: “An $11.8 million settlement has been reached in a negligence suit stemming from a 1980 explosion in a Queens factory that killed 11 people, lawyers said yesterday. The settlement was arrived at late Tuesday as a jury was being selected for a trial of the suit, in which the plaintiffs had sought $40 million….

 

“The explosion, on July 24, 1980, ripped through the Vogue Metalcraft Company, at 134-20 Jamaica Avenue, at 134th Street in Richmond Hill. The company made handbag frames and ornaments. Fire Department officials said sparks from the torch of welder installing anti-burglary bars ignited fumes.

 

“According to Morris J. Eisen and Joseph Arthur Cohen, lawyers in the case, the bulk of the settlement will be split among the families of 10 dead Vogue workers; the family of the welder, who was also killed; 9 injured workers; 3 injured firefighters, an employee of another company in the building and a pedestrian.” (NYT. 11 Million Accord in Fatal Plant Fire.” 3-7-1985.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press., “Explosion Claims Eighth Fatality,” Indiana Evening Gazette, Indiana, PA, 7-28-1980. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=112061155

 

Associated Press. “Explosion Kills 4,” Syracuse Post-Standard, NY. 7-25-1980, A-3. Accessed at http://www.newspaperarchive.com/

 

National Fire Protection Association. “Recent Multi-Fatality Fires.”  In:  U.S. Congress, House.  Boarding Home Fires: New Jersey (Hearing, March 9, 1981), pp. 71-73.

 

National Fire Protection Association. The 1984 Fire Almanac. Quincy, MA: NFPA, 1983.

 

New York Times. “$11 Million Accord in Fatal Plant Fire.” 3-7-1985. Accessed 6-24-2017 at: http://www.nytimes.com/1985/03/07/nyregion/the-city-11-million-accord-in-fatal-plant-fire.html