SERIOUS GAS EXPLOSION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2456, 10 April 1901, Page 24

SERIOUS GAS EXPLOSION.

FORTUNATE ESCAPE OF MR J. J. RAMSAY.

EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO TWO BUILDINGS.

About 25 minutes to 8 o'clock on Sunday night an extraordinary accident occurred in Joel's Buildings in Crawford street. Mr J. J. Ramsay, sharebroker, had gone to 4iis office to write a letter to his wife, who is at present at Clyde, and, having posted it, returned to his. rooms to use the telephone. On entering the room adjoining that occupied by Mr Mathewson (a member of the firm), he noticed a smell of ga6, and lighting the jet in the room, he proceeded to open the. door of Mr Mathewson'b room, in which the telephone is placed. Immediately he opened the door an explosion took place, which wa& heard for a very considerable distance away. The force of the explosion was such that* it blew the fide wall out of the room and also the wall out of the office at. the rear. As soon as Mr Ramsay saw the flame spring up in front of him he attempted to make his way out of the room, but failed, and was violently hurled out on to the roof of Messrs J. Rattray and Son's bond. It is surprising that under the circumstances he was not seriously hurt, or at any rate stunned, but he appears to have retained his senses all through, and on finding himself on the roof his first action was to Ecramble into his office again. From there he made his way downstair and opened the door to allow some people to enter who were clamouring for admittance in the hope of being able to render assistance. The explosion having set fire to the wall paper of the rooms, the Fire Brigade was telephoned for. It was not long before they put in an appearance, and with the aid of a hand-pump Captain Mitchell and hi» inert speedily extinguished all traces, al the fire. Jir_ Ramsay came out of the affair with a few bruises. When our reporter saw him on Monday nigbt he stated that he was able to walk to Mr Bannister's (the chemist), in High street. Erom there Dr H. De Lautour, of Anderson's Bay, was telephoned for, and on arriving in a very short spa<te of time he had Mr Ramsay taken to the Provincial Hotel and put to bed.- On examination it wasNfound tf'a* he is a good deal bruised and suffering slightly from shock, but in the meantime there is nothing serious. He is also scorched slightly about the face and the right hand. His black suit was almost turned into a white one, being covered with dust, and pieces of plaster were found in (several of his pockets.

The cause of the explosion appears to have been a leakage in a gas Fto".e in Mr Mathewson's room. This is the only way in which Mr Ramsay can account for the occurrence.

A visit to the premises on Monday revealed the extent of the damage. On the stair were splinters of wood and pieces of plaster, and near the top the remnants of a door. On the landing the glass had been blown clean out of another door. The outer room escaped with little damage, but Mr Matheweon's own room is a wreck. The side wall, 9in in thickness, has entirely disappeared, tiie paper on the remaining walls is scorched, a file of papers on the table is partially burnt, and everything is topsy-turvy. The office is in a similar state. The side wall was blown clean out, the back -nail cracked in several places and bulged outwards, and the ceiling would have fallen in but that the wall dividing the office from Mr Mathewson's room supports it. It has a bend downwards, and from appearances it would take very little to bring it down altogether.

Messrs J. Rattray and Son's bond in Crawford street has suffered severely. A large quantity of material fell upon the roof, breaking through the 'corrugated iron and the wooden ceiling- over an area of about 30ft by sft. Although a great mass of bricks fell on the goods in. the store, it is not expected that they will be damaged to any great extent.