Plant Engineer’s Bravery Praised
As flames engulfed the building, a long, narrow one-storey concrete stucco structure with an L-shaped addition at one end, workers stumbled to safety.
Most were dazed and shocked; others were bleeding. Some who had escaped unscathed rescued fellow workers. ; A plant engineer, : Kenneth Allan Stew- ; art, was praised by onlookers for two gallant i trips into the building. I He dragged one woman to ! safety and then made an un- 1 successful effort to save a man trapped in the burning build- ! ing. s “I was having smoko in the canteen when I felt a terrific explosion,” said Mr Stewart ] ‘1 grabbed a fire extin- 1 guisher and ducked around to 1 the main body of the build- ’ ing. “Flames were coming from t the workshops and I could t I see a semi-conscious man in s one room. Because of the f
flames 1 wasn’t sure who it was. “1 couldn’t quite reach him. I called out to him to throw out his arms but he did not seem able to do so“Then I saw a woman lying semi-conscious in the room. I only knew her as Sally (Mrs Makara). “I dragged her right through to the front of the building.” Fellow workers and bystanders praised Mr Stewart’s rescue efforts. When he was rescuing Mrs Makara he suffered a cut back and facial abrasions. heard bang Another engineer, Roger Evans, said he had just left the factory and was making his way to a nearby garage when he heard a loud bang. “I ran back to the factory entrance and saw part of a wall blown out. I saw people stumble out with cuts and flash burns,” he said. &
Said another employee, Mrs J. Webb: “We were sitting down having afternoon tea when suddenly there was a terrific explosion. Chairs and tables lifted in the air and stuff went flying all over the place. We all just ran out as best we could.” Another employee said: “If we hadn’t been at smoko we would have been at the drills right Hext to the explosion. We were very lucky.” The pall of smoke was seen up to 40 miles away according to reports tonight.
Senator Better. The former senator, Barry Goldwater, was released from hospital in Phoenix yesterday after treatment for a chronic back ailment He is due to leave later this week on a one-month holiday trip to Britain and Europe.— (Phoenix, Arizona, April 13.)
Plant Engineer’s Bravery Praised
Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30725, 14 April 1965, Page 1
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