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ERWIN JUNKER, HAMILTON ST, HAS MIRACULOUS ESCAPE WHEN GAS FUMES CAUSE SERIOUS BLASTGasoline Used In Cleaning Washing Machine Believed To Be Responsible—Foundation of House Blown Out, Much DamageIn one of the strangest accidents ever recorded in Manitowoc, an explosion of gasoline fumes, in the basement of the Erwin Junker home, 1624 Hamilton street, shortly after eight o’clock last night seriously burned Mr. Junker, 38, blew out nearly all the basement walls of the two story stucco and brick bungalow and bulged floors, tore off plaster and wrecked furnishings in the upper floors of the dwelling.While Mr. Junker lay on a hospital bed today with his head, arms and body swathed in bandages his wife and son, with the assistance of neighbors were doing their-best to straighten out the mass of tangled wreckage about the house. The blast, with the spreading of the news about the city, brought a great rush of the curious to the scene. So great was the crowd of people at the Junker home all last nightand today that it was necessary to station guards about theI • l 11 J. __— :__— ^nn/iA mn n nrOnfa/I rtn g]]premises and this morning a wire fence was erected on four sides of the property to keep people away.Wife Tell. Story Many wild stories were circulated of just what occurred at the Junker home, but from Mrs. Junker this morning a clear statement of the accidentlt;was secured. • She said- herhusband was engaged after supper• last evening in cleaning and repairing the machinery of an. electric washing machine in one of the basement rooms. He had secured a can of gasoline* and with old rags had wiped clean all the working parts of the machine. This task• completed he went to a faucet to wash his hands, but decided to take a bath Instead. 'He turned on tho gas in a coil in the basement and touched a match to the burner. There still remained a quantity of gasoline on his hands and clothing. Instantly —there~waa_ a._X0Rr_.And_.R_ blast of flame. It is believed thatIn the Cleaning’operations by Mr. Junker, that the basement rooms had filled with gasoline fumes, the touch of flame to the gas burner .gnlted them and set off the blast that blew all four foundation walls outward.Junker Grope. Way to*Lawn His-olothing on fire and-slunnea bv the force of the explosion Junker managed to grope his way out of the basement and to the lawn at the rear of the house, where he lollapsed. Mrs. Junker was sitting \n the front room of the house at the time of the explosion while her son Ralph, aged 8. was practicing a violin lesson in an adjoining room. They were badly shaken by the blast'which let go with such force that the hardwood floors in the living room and kitchen heaved up three or four feet and plaster Jie walls. .Meanwhile ne/ghbors came to the assistance of Junker and his family. Telephone calls summoned the fire department and the city ambulance. Junker was rushed to the hospital, where physicians were waiting to administer to his burns. Fire Chief Kuplic, when he arrived on the scene and saw that there was danger of the house collapsing on account of the four brick foundation walls being blown out. refused to allow his men to go Inside the house. A hasty examination showed that there was no fire, only a few gasoline soaked rags burning.Hundred. Flock to Home Hundreds of the curious were soon milling about tho Junker home. Curbs for half a dq?en blocks in all directions from the corner of Hamilton and Seventeenth streets were soon lined with cars as motorists crowded about the wrecked home. It took an examination to convince one how terrific had been the force of the explosion. Glass from tho basement windows hud been blown out with such force that pieces splattered up against houses on the opposite »*Bide of the street.Junker's escape from more serious injuries is explained by the , fact that the explosion sent the walls and glnss outward and bo he escaped being struck by any of the flying debris. Even the garage, on tne northeast corner of the . home, did not escape. The two swinging doora were blown loose from their hinges and the glass broken. Bricks from the foundations were piled about the Junker car parked inside. Plaster In practically every room in the house was town off, pictures were tilted at crazy angles. A gold fish bowl, on the porch was cracked by the explosion and the water seeped away.Visit. Husband at Hospital Chief Kuplic, as soon as It appeared safe for the his men to enter the home, set them to work clearing up the wreckage caused by plaster falling In all the rooms. Awa8 on'y the flutd to the.dirty parts of the machine.Insurance May Not Cover Today it was stated that there was some question of whether the insurance policies, carried by Mr. Junker on his house and furnishings would cover his loss on account of there being no fire; The matter was taken up with the agent carrying the policies and he advised that a head official of the com-Eany would come here from Green ay to make an Investigation and decide whether the policies covered the loss sustained last night by the Junkers.. Danger of the house fettling down. on_ tlie. ..wrecked foundation walls last night, prompted the securing of a number of jacks and placing them at dangerous points around the four walls of the home. This morning extra timber supports were added.No Estimate of Damage No estimate on the amount of the damage to the Junker home by the explosion was available today but a survey Indicated that repairs would cost several hundred dollars. The entire house will have to be jacked up and a new foundation built, the old flooring on part of the first floor ripped out and re-laid. Plaster In most of the rooms will have to be replaced.Employed a. i ruck Driver Mr. Junker is employed as a truck driver for the Mid-West Creamery Go. of this city for some time past. He is 38 years of. age.feM’KECHNIE IS AT LIBERTY ON $10,000 BAILOak Park Authoritiei Refuse To Honor Requisition Papers Signed By Governorguard was placed to keep the crowd back. After the first shock of accident was over, Mrs. Junker asked to be taken to the hospital to learn the condition of her husband. The news there was encouraging, physicians reporting that while his burns were painful, they were not serious and said he would pull through all right.She returned In an hour to the •wrecked home. When she entered the living room and viewed the wreckage she buret into tears. • It was hard to conceive how so much damage could result from a blast Induced by such a small quantity of gasoline. Mrs. Junker aaid that her husband,, contrary to reports, was not using gasoline In the wash-I ing machine to clean garments, butEfforts of Manitowoc authorities to return John McKechnie to this city to stand trial on murder charges growing out of the automobile accident in which Miss Myra Boldt, Sheboygan. Falls, was killed near Spring Valley early this year, are being met with Increasing obstacles at Oak Park, Illinois, where authorities have refused to honor requisition papers given to Sheriff Herman Carstens by Governor Em-merson.Released on BondAccording to a wire received today by District Attorney L. F. Fischer, the man sought here Is at liberty under $10,000 ball with a hearing scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at 4 o’clock. He • was picked up on a fugitive warrant and had indicated ho would waive extradition but before authorities could reach the Illinois city he had retained attorneys and announced his intention of fighting efforts to return him to Wisconsin.Owing to District Attorney Fischer being busy with a condemnation action tomorrow, It is probable that county authorities will have to ask a continuance of the case and have the sheriff make another trip later. It Is possible that the man might escape under a new writ if the case was delayed.w Y H. shlt; up we the dolt; theB1A sheriff's deed transferring the farm property formerly operated by Henry Yurfc in the town of-Newton to Margaret Jomen was filed with Register of Deeds Gust Eggert today. The property was sold at sheriff’s sale last week for $3,500, the purchaser being the mortgage holder.PlaCLainAnnouncement that all unpaid Income taxes would be turned over to the sheriff’s department for collection on September 37. was made today by County Treasurer Arthur E. Mueller. Taxes not paid un until that time will be increased by interest and collection charges.ancabl;nantorof ithenoogenondevove;\y\getmor\\vatiful grei of t met one the part A
Newspaper Details
Manitowoc Herald News
Manitowoc, Wisconsin, US
Thu, Sep 10, 1931
Page 11
Full Page
Clipped by
Badgerlink
WI, USA 11 Nov 2016
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