EXPLOSION WRECKS ROOM

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 757, 2 September 1929, Page 1

EXPLOSION WRECKS ROOM

Family’s Terrifying Experience FATHER AND SON INJURED A VIOLENT, terrifying explosion, which thundered out without any warning, to wreck the room, hurl its occupants about and tear a stove from its place in an adjoining room, occurred last evening in the sitting-room grate in the residence of Mr. Samuel Agnew, 14 Selboume Street, Grey Lynn.

Of the five people in the room at the time of the explosion, which is thought to have been caused by the firing of a detonator in the coal, Mr. Agnew, and his son, Mr. Stanlej r Agnew, aged 26, were struck and badly injured by flying furniture. They were both taken to the Auckland Hospital, where they were reported this morning to be making a quick recovery. The injuries suffered by the other three in the room were only slight, although Mr. B. Ratcliffe, a visiting neighbour, had the trying experience of being hurled across the room, and through a doorway into an adjoining room. MIRACULOUS ESCAPE It was certainly a miraculous escape for all the occupants, for the room was reduced to a state of ruin, being littered with debris of crumbled furniture, smashed gramophone records, broken pictures and chips of crockery —the remains of prized ornaments. Residents some distance away were startled when their homes shook with the explosion. Still suffering from shock, Mrs. Agnew detailed her family’s experience to a Sun man this morning. The fire had been alight for nearly two hours, she said, and had been fuelled with small lumps of coal from a bucket near the grate. All the household had settled down to spend the evening in the sitting room. Miss R. Agnew and Mr. Stanley Agnew were seated about five feet from, but directly in front of, the fire, playing draughts, while Mr. Agnew, sen., was in a chair slightly to one side of the fire, his son having his back to the grate. Mrs. Agnew was in the kitchen and Miss D. Agnew was in the bathroom. NO WARNING No coal had been put in the fire for some time. Then suddenly, without a warning of any sort, there was a terrific and deafening report. The

whole house shook. The mantelpiece tumbled down and the grate was blown to small pieces which were hurled against the walls. Mrs. Agnew and her daughter rushed in from the adjoining rooms. The sitting-room was then full of smoke and dust, and cries of “The house is on fire!” went up. The room cleared and they met the appalling sight. Mr. Agnew’s chair had been heaved away from, the fireplace and he was bleeding from a bad cut in the head. Mr. Stanley Agnew was lying next to the tall mantelpiece of heavy wood, which had been torn from its place and had fallen to the floor. With some difficulty the mantelpiece was moved and the young man was carried out unconscious. Miss R. Agnew was slightly cut about the leg. STREWN WITH DEBRIS The room was a complete wreck. It was strewn with bricks, pieces of iron and articles from the walls, cupboard and sideboard, presenting a scene of absolute ruin. Many of the family’s much-treasured ornaments were smashed, while a large clock which had been in the family for 30 years was found in many pieces. In the kitchen which adjoined the sitting-room havoc had also been played by the explosion. The stove was dislodged and broken, while pieces of iron were found among the ashes which littered the kitchen floor. Within a few minutes of the explosion large crowds assembled at the gate, while neighbours who were first on the scene saw dense smoke issuing from the sitting-room window. For a time no one would venture in the house. Mr. E. Hoyt, manager for Mr. W. H. McKinney, chemist, arrived on the scene and immediately raced inside, where he dressed the wounds of Mr. Agnew and his son. This morning Mrs. Agnew highly praised Mr. Hoyt for his flue efforts. The contents of the house are insured in the New Zealand Insurance Company for £l4O.