Bristol, RI Fireworks Plant Explosion, Aug 1926

FIREWORKS BLAST KILLS FOUR IN R. I.

SCORE OF OTHER HURT AT BRISTOL PLANT; 4 BUILDINGS WRECKED.

OWNER, HIS WIFE, SON AND SON-IN-LAW DEATH VICTIMS -- BODIES BADLY MANGLED -- HOUSES NEARBY DAMAGED -- WINDOWS SHATTERED IN DISTANT PARTS OF TOWN -- CAUSE OF EXPLOSION MAY NEVER BE LEARNED.

Bristol, R. I., Aug. 9 -- (AP) -- Four persons were killed and a score injured today by an explosion whch destroyed the plant of the Bristol Fireworks Company, wrecked three other buildings, damaged nearby houses, and shattered windows in distant parts of the town.
The four victims were:
GIUSEPPE GEORGIO, owner of the factory.
His wife, TUMBARRO GEORGIO.
Their son JAMES GEORGIO.
Their son in law LUIGI TUMBARRO, an employe.
Unidentified woman who was blown out of the window of a house across the street. Her body, horribly mutilated, was picked up a short distance up the street.
The three men were at work and MRS. GEORGIO had just gone to the plant to bring them their dinners when the explosion occurred.
Her decapitated body was found in a potato patch 20 yards distant. GEORGIO was blown through the roof of the flimsy one-story wooden shack that housed the plant. His body and that of TUMBARRO, both mangled almost beyond recognition, were taken from the ruins. JAMES GEORGIO, the only one of the four alive when rescuers arrived, was removed to the Rhode Island Hospital, where he died an hour and a half later without being able to tell the cause of the explosion.
The fireworks shack was blown to atoms and the fragments scattered in all directions for several hundred yards. Two dwelling houses which stood within ten yards of the shack were demolished as was an adjoining carriage shed.
The injured were residents of nearby houses. Police reported they had found only seven persons that required medical attention, and that their injuries were not serious. MRS. MANUEL PACHEO, who lived in one of the houses wrecked by the explosion, received a severe cut on the shoulder. The other dwelling was occupied by S. S. Stanzione but none of the family was at home.
The blast shook the whole town and shattered windows in buildings more than a mile distant.
Authorities tonight had been unable to determine the cause of the blast and expressed doubt that it would ever be discovered, although a coroner's inquest will be conducted.

Daily Kennebec Journal Maine 1926-08-10
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!