Mansfield, OH Natural Gas Explosion, Oct 1911

A NATURAL GAS EXPLOSION AND FIRE WRECK THE OLD WILER HOUSE BUILDING.

FOURTEEN WOMEN IN RISCH & McCOY MILLINERY STORE WHEN TERRIFIC CONCUSSION CAME THAT DISMANTLED STORE AND STARTED FIRE.

Mansfield, Ohio -- (AP) -- Two women were seriously burned while half a dozen more were slightly burned by an explosion
of natural gas which completely wrecked the Risch & McCoy millinery store in the old Wiler building on North Main Street about 4 o'clock Monday afternoon. Fire, which followed, gutted the old landmark in the heart of the business section and for a time threatened numerous buildings in the immediate vicinity.
Natural gas, which had accumulated in the basement under the Risch & McCoy store room, was set off by the pilot light of a gas furnace located in the center of the store and caused the explosion. The big plate glass of the show window was blown to atoms, while millinery of all description all descriptions, hats, trimmings, etc., and even the benches were blown into the street by the force of the explosion. All the windows in the store room were blown out, while there was an upheaval of the floor in the center section.

Women in store during explosion.
Seriously burned:
MISS LYDIA BRUMENSCHENKEL, 580 Marion Avenue, milliner in Risch & McCoy's store. Seriously burned about head, neck, chest and arms. Hair burned off her head and practically all clothing burned of her. Taken to Emergency Hospital.
MRS. GEORGE W. COLESWORTHY, 735 Spring Mill Steet, customer in store. Rescued through window of store. All clothing burned off to waist. Flesh burns over chest and shoulders and arms,while practically all hair burned off head and face badly burned. Feet burned to ankles, rubber stockings protecting her. Gash in right arm received while being removed through window. Taken to her home.
Slightly burned:
MRS. M. S. MYERS, 26 1/2 East Third Street, saleslady. Slightly burned about face. Suffering from nervous shock.
MRS. ELLA C. McCOY, 158 West Fourth Street. Slightly injured by having desk fall on her. Rescued through window, being only slightly burned about the face. Suffering from nervous shock attendant to explosion.
MRS. ELFIEDA HUBBELL, 183 North Mulberry Street, milliner. Face burned, hair singed and burns about shoulders.
MISS MARTHA COLESWORTHY, 735 Spring Mill Street. Burned about face and suffering from nervous shock.
MRS. W. J. SPRENG, 38 Stewart Avenue. Clothing burned and hair singed but otherwise unhurt.
MRS. D. A. CRONENWETT, 164 Lexington Avenue, customer in store. Thrown against counter by shock of explosion and severely bruised. Slight burns about hands and face and clothing burned.
MISS PAULINE CRONENWETT, 164 Lexington Avenue. Slightly burned. Fell as she ran from store and severely bruised.
MISS VOLLRATH, of Bucyrus. Escaped by jumping through a window, clothing being slightly burned.
MRS. LILLY CAMPBELL and MISSES VERA CHERRY, BLANCHE FREY and LAURA FARR, milliners in work room, who escaped by rear door and unhurt save for nervous shock attendant to explosion.

Mansfield News Ohio 1911-10-10
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!