SIDE OF HOUSE BLOWN OUT.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18053, 13 January 1927, Page 5

SIDE OF HOUSE BLOWN OUT.

LITTLE BOY HAS REMARKABLE ESCAPE. The explosive which was mixed last night had been left in the kitchen in two screw-top jars. The expiosiotn completely wrecked the kitchen and blew boards off the wall above the bed. of the little boy who was sleeping in the room alongside. One side of the house was blown out. The rest of the house was shattered. All the windows were smashed and the occupants must have had a miraculous escape from splinters of flying glass. The room where Mr and Mrs Emmett and the baby were sleeping was the least harmed in the house. However, the windows were broken and the walls were buckled. The explosive mixture was sufficient to blast fqrty logs. All the residents in the locality were awakened by the explosion and some went to the assistance of Mr and Mrs Emmett. The fact that the family had escaped injury caused wonder. All the assistance necessary was given and there was no difficulty experienced in extricating the family from the wrecked house. The family were shifted away from the wrecked house this morning. Sulphur was added to the explosive mixture about 6 o'clock last night, and it was then placed in two air-tight screw-top jars and left in the kitchen. The explosion reduced the kitchen to chaos, the crockery and furnishings being smashed to atoms. The kitchen side of the house was blown out and every window in the place was

smashed. The glass /was reduced to fragments, which were sent flying in every direction. It was, indeed, miraculous that none of the occupants were cut by the glass, which must have showered about them. The room occupied by Mr and Mrs Emmett, and the baby was the least harmed in the house; but the windows were broken and the walls buckled. -All residents in the locality heard the explosion, and some ventured out to see what the trouble was. When it was found that the explosion had destroyed a house, neighbours, fearing a tragedy, hastened to the Emmetts’ assistance. However, the family had extricated itself from the wreckage, and it was then found that no injurv had been done. The whole family had a miraculous escape, but the small boy was luckiest of all. He was sleeping next to the kitchen, and boards were blown, from the wall above his head. .As it stands now, the house is a pathetic-looking structure. The front Avail is standing, but one side wall is doAvn, and inside there is a tangled mass of timber and household effects of every kind. On the mantel-piece the clock still ticks, but it is many hours out. Mrs Emmett and the children went away early this morning to a rela-tn’-e s home.