Family History
This article if from The San Francisco Chronicle and is reproduced in it's entirety without permission. It was originally published Wed., March 24, 1976.
Factory Blast Near Redding Kill 4 -- Smog Device Blamed
Redding
A dust explosion and fire killed four men and injured 11 others in a particle board factory near here early yesterday. A company spokesman blames it on a new air pollution control system.
"If we just had the old system, this wouldn't have happened, in my opinion," said Ed Shaw, operations manager for the U.S. Plywood Corp. "This wouldn't have happened three or four years ago."
The blaze destroyed most of the firm's Novoply plant; and company officials estimated damage at $9 million.
Shaw said sparks from a "rather minor" fire in a drier were sucked into the air pollution control system, designed to suck dust through pneumatic tubes into air bags.
An explosion in the air bag house was so powerful, Shaw said, it pushed burning material down the vacuum tubes to the forming line, where boards are formed from wood chips and glue.
All four bodies of the victims of the blast were found near the forming line, he said.
Three of the injured were flown to the St. Francis Hospital in San Francisco, where their condition was described as "very critical." Others were taken to a Chico burn center.
Although four bodies were recovered, no positive identifications had been made late yesterday. The Shasta county sheriff's office, however, identified four missing workmen as Alex Daskovitch, Barry Richard [sic], Bob Fraser and Jim Brock.
In addition to the 11 injured workmen, Rudy Zoellmer, 40, assistant chief f the Cascade Fire District, was hospitalized with a leg injury from falling debris.
The explosion and fire occurred at 12:58 a.m. while 50 workers were in the factory. One fireman said it was a "fantastic explosion," flames engulfing 30,000 square feet in 15 seconds.
Shaw said the blast will idle a force of 120 hourly workers and 23 supervisors.
An adjacent lumber mill and plywood plant were not damaged.
Our Correspondent
The worker incorrectly named as "Barry Richard" was Richard Berry, my father.
