Devon, PA Fireworks Plant Explosion, Apr 1930

9 DEAD IN FIREWORKS BLAST.

SCORES HURT IN EXPLOSION AT DEVON, PENNA.

SO TERRIFIC WAS DETONATION IT COULD BE HEARD FOR MILES -- AUTOS BLOWN FROM ROAD.

NEARBY FACTORY IS DAMAGED BY DEBRIS.

TOWN LOCATED IN MIDST OF FASHIONABLE SUBURBAN AREA WEST OF PHILADELPHIA THROWN INTO TURMOIL.

Philadelphia, April 3 (AP) -- Nine persons were killed and scores injured, some critically, in a series of explosions today that wrecked a fireworks plant at Devon, fifteen miles from Philadelphia, and shook most of the fashionable suburbs along the main line of the Pennsylvania Railroad west of this city.
The explosions occurred at the plant of the Pennsylvania Fireworks Display Company, Incorporated, comprised of ten small buildings on a seven acre tract of land. The plant is situated near the railroad and the Lincoln Highway, locally known as Lancaster Pike.
There were three tremendously heavy blasts followed at intervals for about twenty minutes, by lighter explosions, which at times sounded like the rattle of machine guns, presumably from small fireworks.

Children Killed at Play.
Most of the dead and injured were employes of the plant. Three of the dead were women. Two little girls, sisters, firemen said, were killed at play outside the plant. Other bodies were found in the debris. They were badly burned.
The plant consisted of ten small buildings on a seven acre tract of land near the Pennsylvania Railroad's main line to the west.
Like a roar of a battery of artillery the first explosion let loose at about 9:50, sending debris through the air for long distances. Two other detonations followed immediately, and for twenty minutes there were explosions like the rattle of machine guns. The heavy detonations were felt more than twenty miles away. The blasts were distinctly felt in the upper part of Philadelphia and in New Jersey.

Train Windows Shattered.
Many windows in a Pennsylvania Railroad local train at Devon Station were broken and some of the passengers were cut by glass. They were treated and sent to their homes. After the explosion hundreds of persons crowded the four tracks of the railroad. Railroad men summoned help from the Valley Forge Military Academy and 250 cadets went on duty patrolling the railroad. Cadets with improvised flags were sent up and down the railroad to caution train crews of the danger from persons running on the right of way.
A number of bodies were found in the debris of the wrecked plant and search was continued for others.
Fire companies from many of the suburban towns rushed to the scene of the blast and gave first aid to injured and used all sorts of vehicles to rush the injured to hospitals.
The explosion was so terrific that it was felt and heard for many miles. Much damage was caused in the immediate vicinity of the blast.
Automobiles that were passing the plant at the time were said to have been thrown from the road.
Tha plant of Benjamin T. Detner, a short distance from the scene of the explosion, where 200 persons werer employed, was partly wrecked as large pieces of flying debris rained down on the building.
When the firemen arrived continued explosions in the plant prevented them from going to the place.
Workmen in a switch tower of the Pennsylvania Railroad at Devon, nearly half a mile away, were thrown to the floor by the blast.
The town of Devon, which is in the midst of the fashionable suburban area west of Philadelphia, was in an uproar as one explosion followed another, breaking window glass and causing other damage.
An emergency call was sent to the Valley Forge Military Academy at Devon and Major Milton G. Baker, head of the Academy, led the school's entire personnel of 250 cadets to the scene. They formed a guard around the plant and assisted in restoring order.

Cumberland Evening Times Maryland 1930-04-03

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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!