From The Ridgway Record-August 1, 1955
Terrific Blast Rocks Eagle Valley Area Early Today
Eagle Valley residents were rocked from their beds, screams of women echoed through the valley and lightly clad folks poured onto the streets when a terrific explosion and fire destroyed the Ridgway Bottling Co. at 497 1/2 North Broad Street at 2:23 o’clock this morning. The loss will probably reach between $75,000 and $100,000. The fire leveled the two-story frame dwelling of Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Thomas, located on the north side of the bottling plant. Flames also gutted the two-story frame home of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Flannigan, located on the south side of the Tegano business. Thomas estimated his loss at about $10,000. None or the contents of the home was saved.
Woman, Child Rescued
Mrs. Thomas, 22, and her daughter Mary Lynn, were rescued from the flaming dwelling by neighbor, Joseph Caggeso. Mrs. Thomas was cut on the face and left arm and Mary Lynn sustained cuts on the thigh and back due to flying glass. Their injuries were treated by a Ridgway physician. Mr. and Mrs. Flannigan and their 4-month-old son Michael were knocked out of their beds. Plaster fell into the child’s crib, but the trio escaped injuries and burns. Flannigan estimated his loss at over $7,000.
20 Homes Damaged
Another 20 homes in the area were damaged as result of the blast. Windows in homes more than 300 feet from the blast were broken. Homes in other sections of town were shaken. The residence of Carl Peterson located next to the Thomas home, by Mr. Peterson and Mr. and Mrs. Mike Denenzlo, was extensively damaged. The two-story dwelling was knocked loose from its foundation.
The front door was jarred loose, plaster in most of the rooms was broken and windows and window frames throughout most of the house were smashed. Mr. Denenzlo said he was knocked out of bed when the explosion occurred. Mr. Peterson estimated the damage to his home at between $8,000 and $10,000. The homes of Joseph Caggesso and Edward Johnson across the street in the path of the explosion suffered heavy damage including loosened plaster and broken windows. The front door of the Johnson residence was shaken from its hinges and fell onto the porch. Larry Caggesso, age 8 was knocked out of his bed. Among other homes damaged in the immediate area were those of Armand Cagganno, Mrs. Helen Nelson, Carl Hyberg and William Laughner. The explosion let loose with such force that boards from the bottling works were hurled 500 feet away from the scene. Some of the boards landed on the roof of the Elliott Company roof 250 feet away, others landed on Williams Street and almost to Rock Street. Boards also landed in nearby trees at a height of 15 feet above the ground.
The Elliott Company suffered damage from the blast. One wall of the building was bulged out and more than 25 windows were shattered. Telegraph lines of the Pennsylvania Railroad at the rear of the bottling company were sheared and communications disrupted. The loss of the Ridgway (Tegano) Bottling Company will exceed $50,000. Included in the loss is bottling equipment, a supply of beverages and three trucks. The one-story building was constructed of concrete blocks, brick veneer and wood. The explosion and fire left the building in shambles. Tegano was out of town when the blast occurred, he resided next door until a month ago when he sold the home to Mr. Lloyd Thomas. The Tegano’s now reside at 208 Cook Avenue.
All units of the Ridgway Fire Department were on the scene and the well-organized fire fighters under the direction of Stuart Speer and his assistants Keith Mader and Joseph Andrick went about their work methodically. The two-way radio system proved a great advantage as firemen manning the trucks kept in contact with each other and received instructions from Chief Speer.
Firemen Injured
Two firemen, Stuart Speer, Jr. and Harry Detwiler were overcome by smoke and several others sustained cuts as nails from the loosened boards penetrated their feet. Speer and Detwiler were taken to the Ridgway Hospital and later this morning Detwiler was released. Daniel Gausman was one of the firemen who suffered a foot injury. None of the injuries however were serious. The firemen using 3,000 feet of hose, brought the fire under control in 11/2 hours and the all-out signal was sounded at 6:00 AM.
Detour Traffic
North Broad Street a part of Route 219, was cluttered with boards at the scene of the explosion and through traffic was detoured via St. Marys and Montmorenci. Ridgway police and a force of auxiliary police were on the job directing traffic and Johnsonburg police assisted by detouring motor vehicles through St. Marys. Full traffic between Ridgway and Johnsonburg was restored this morning.
Power Restored
Eagle Valley and other parts of Ridgway were left in darkness when a pole of the West Penn Power Company at the scene of the blaze caught fire and wires were cut for safety measures. Included in the power disruption was the Elk County General Hospital and power was restored to the institution in about one hour. West Penn restored full service throughout Ridgway later in the day. The power interruption also affected the Home Telephone Company where and emergency unit was brought into use.
Plane Service Disrupted
Two telephone cables were knocked out by the explosion. One is a 100-line cable and the other a 150-line cable. Service was disrupted consequently on the Ridgway-Johnsonburg circuit including long distance to Johnsonburg, also all the Johnsonburg-St. Marys circuits. Subscribers in Eagle Valley north of Bark Street including the Elliott Company were without service. Crews of the utility companies were immediately on the scene once the firemen completed their task. It is expected most telephone service will be completed by this afternoon.
Motorists Escape Injury
Two Ridgway motorists who were near the explosion scene escaped injury. Dick Fredrickson had turned off North Broad Street onto Williams Street when the blast let go. The rear of his vehicle was damaged. Teddy Votano, traveling south on North Broad Street had just passed the bottling plant. He was not injured, and his car was not damaged. Cause of the explosion has not been determined. An investigation is underway by Fire Chief Speer and Police Chief Harry M. Hill and John Paxton of the State Police, Punxsutawney, special fire investigator. Scores of Ridgway residents lined North Broad Street to view the fire. They praised the firemen as they efficiently went about their job of controlling the fire. The truck belonging to Joseph Caggesso and parked on Williams Street opposite the explosion scene was damaged. The windshield was smashed. The explosion disrupted the fire alarm system and as a result only one alarm sounded. This detained all firemen reaching the scene sooner.
