FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM

A Fort Worth Owned Newspaper

FORT WORTH, TEXAS ***Where the West Begins*** SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 1944

Morning Edition Price 5 Cents

Five Killed as Explosions Wreck Firework Plant on Lake Worth

At least five persons were killed and six others injured Friday morning when the Pan American Fireworks Company on the northwest shore of Lake Worth was virtually destroyed by a series of explosions.

J. M. Williams, an employe of the company, which made simulated bombs for the Army, gave first reports on the tragedy.

Firemen, city and state police and members of the sheriff's force rushed to the scene, as well as rescue workers from Fort Worth Army Air Field. They were prevented momentarily from reaching the damaged area because of the danger of additional explosions.

Williams, injured, told his story comforting his wife, whose father, C. H. Baker, was listed by Williams as one of the fatalities.

Others Williams said had been killed, and whose bodies he helped remove were:

Mrs. Leona Dawson

Mrs. Montie Bradshaw

Mrs. Kate Rosenberg

Mrs. Ethel Lassiter

Mrs. Lassiter was the widow of Al Lassiter, formerly fire chief at Swift & Co. All of the women victims were described as middleaged.

The body of Mrs. Rosenberg was identified by her husband, Al Rosenberg, a Convair employe who was called from his work by news of the tragedy.

The manufacturing plant consisted of two large structures, one where powder was made and another where the explosive is stored, and about 12 smaller buildings, each housing from two to four workers.

Plant Operator Hurt

All of the buildings were located in an acre covering about one-fourth of an acre.

Williams said he was in the powder storehouse when the first explosions occurred. He was unable to tell which building was hit first. At least four explosions followed he said, caused by force of the first blast as well as by grass fires which spread rapidly.

The plant was operated by William "Firecracker Bill" Engelke, who was injured and reported suffering from shock and burns at Pennsylvania Avenue Hospital.

Engelke's wife also is a daughter of Baker.

Engelke, in previous years, was known from coast to coast for his manufacture of unusual fireworks exhibits. When war came he offered his services to the War Department and first began making simulated bombs and ammunition for Camp Hood.

Made Time Bombs

His products were so successful that other Army installations began using them. The plant manufactured time bombs and flame bombs to simulate actual warfare conditions.

Other known injured were James David Stack, 25, and his wife, Grace, 19, who were taken to City County Hospital with burns and abrasions. Their conditions were not believed serious.

The plant was reported to have employed as many as 30 persons at times, but how many were on duty when the explosions occurred was unknown.

Several B-24 Liberator bombers from Fort Worth Army Air Field began circling the area, and police quickly broadcast a warning to the field control tower to call them in and keep them from flying over the endangered section.

Williams said all of those killed and most of the injured were at work in small, individual buildings where the powder-packed cardboard containers are wrapped and the fuses inserted.

The blasts were heard over a wide area of Fort Worth, including Arlington Heights, Oakhurst and on the North Side, where windows rattled and some dishes were shaken from pantry shelves. Doors of Lake Worth Courts, about a half-mile away from the fireworks plant, were blown off.

Blasts at the Pan American Fireworks Co. Friday morning put F. J. Barles, about 50, who was sick in bed, back on his feet.

"I was lying in bed when the first blast came," said Barles, whose home is about 75 yards from the plant area. "The explosion force lifted me straight out of bed and landed me on my feet."

Barles said all windows in his house and most of the dishes were broken, but that he and his family were not injured.

Home

…where the West begins