Kutztown, Pennsylvania

Furnace Explosion

July 27, 1883

A TERRIFIC EXPLOSION.

Eight Believe Wrecked at a Pennsylvania Furnace.

A terrible boiler explosion occurred at the Kutztown (Penn.) furnace, resulting in the death of one man and severely if not fatally injuring several others. The furnace is owned by the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron company but is operated by William H. Kaufman & Co. The boilers, eight in number, are walled together . Only one exploded, the force of which tore out all the others. The iron stack, sixty-five feet in height, was thrown by the force of the explosion into the casting house which was destroyed. The hour for casting at the furnace was about 4:30 o'clock in the morning. The employees were on the outside of the building taking a rest preparatory to the cast, otherwise the loss of life would have been large. The force of the explosion was terrific, large pieces of the boiler being hurled in different directions. The furnace is badly wrecked, and will require a long time to be again put in operation.

FRANKLIN WALTMAN, age twenty-one, was lying on a plank between the cast-house and the boiler-house. He was buried by the falling debris. He called loudly for help, but when taken out he was dead. His father, SOLOMON WALTMAN, was slightly injured about the legs. HENRY WALTMAN, aged forty, was taken from under the ruins, having been fatally injured. MORRIS GOOD was badly scalded by escaping steam from the boiler; his injuries are severe. E. MARSTELAR, the engineer, was sitting on a chair in the engine-house when the explosion occurred. He was more or less injured, but not fatally. Other employees received injuries, but none of them serious.

The furnace, which was built about six years ago, was considered one of the best in that section, yielding about 120 tons of iron a week. The force of the explosion shook the earth and aroused the people for miles around. The damage to the furnace will amount to many thousands of dollars.

Ticonderoga Sentinel New York 1883-07-27

Submitted & transcribed by Stu Beitler  Thank you, Stu!

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