{"id":752,"date":"2014-04-18T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-18T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=752"},"modified":"2015-01-09T15:53:47","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T20:53:47","slug":"double-gas-explosions-in-munhall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2014\/04\/18\/double-gas-explosions-in-munhall\/","title":{"rendered":"Double gas explosions in Munhall"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Munhall's <\/a>
Munhall’s Eighth Avenue on Dec. 5, 1929. (Photo credit: The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A house near the source of the explosion in Munhall. (The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div>
\"Volunteers <\/a>
Volunteers turned out in droves to assist with rescue and recovery. (Ray Gallivan\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The wreckage of Eighth Avenue. (The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Munhall <\/a>
Munhall following the 1929 post office explosion. (Pittsburgh Press photo) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"An <\/a>
An image of the rescue effort, aided by dozens of men in hats, and transport to the hospital. (Ray Gallivan\/The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The Star Drug Store, whose gas line was the source of the Friday explosion. (The Pittsburgh Press) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

When the first gas line exploded, Anna Fincisky thought it was just another noisy blast from the nearby steel mill in Homestead.<\/p>\n

Fincisky was a store clerk working next to the post office in Munhall on Thursday, Dec. 5, 1929, when a faulty gas line exploded and killed six people<\/a>. More than 50 others were injured; four of them were in \u201cprecarious condition,\u201d including the assistant postmaster and the conductor of a street car that was passing by when the explosion happened.<\/p>\n

The aftermath resembled \u201cthe sweepings of a carpenter\u2019s shop,\u201d with jagged pieces of wood, metal and glass filling a block on Eighth Avenue. Scores of volunteers went to the streets to help comb through the wreckage.<\/p>\n

The explosion caused more than superficial damage. Other portions of the gas line were damaged by the blast, including one that had been patched.<\/p>\n

Less than 24 hours later, a line under the Star Drug Store blew when a plumber \u2014 investigating the source of the first blast \u2014 lit a lamp in the shop\u2019s basement.<\/p>\n

Four more injuries resulted.<\/p>\n

Equitable Gas Co. owned the problematic lines (and the gas tanks in the 1927 explosion on the city\u2019s North Side<\/a>). After the second explosion, the coroner ordered all lines in Eighth Avenue\u2019s vicinity to be turned off. Equitable announced the entire main would be replaced.<\/p>\n

The town was on edge after the double blast.<\/p>\n

After the tragedy, loud pops like tire blasts were cause for frequent calls to the Munhall police department, officers had to reassure residents that things were under control by Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n

In the Post-Gazette\u2019s photo archive, there are about a dozen photos from that terrible week in Munhall\u2019s history, including small headshots. These are presumably those of the injured or deceased, it\u2019s hard to tell though: none of them are labeled.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A faulty gas line exploded and killed six people on Dec. 5, 1929.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesDouble gas explosions in Munhall<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[948],"tags":[1211,1235,1236,1048],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/tumblr_n474jw4MFb1rr5swxo7_1280.jpg?fit=1000%2C726&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7530,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2017\/05\/04\/two-journeys-from-slovakia-to-the-mon-valley\/","url_meta":{"origin":752,"position":0},"title":"Two journeys from Slovakia to the Mon Valley","date":"May 4, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The men mined coal and endured tragic deaths brought about by a flu pandemic, then their lives intertwined","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Digs.John-D.-Lesko2-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2289,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/11\/14\/behind-this-picture-lies-a-tragic-story\/","url_meta":{"origin":752,"position":1},"title":"Behind this picture lies a tragic story","date":"November 14, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"How that story ends is a mystery, one you may be able to help solve.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/tumblr_mdedc2irjR1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C892&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2292,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2012\/11\/14\/gas-explosions-in-1927-on-pittsburghs-north-side\/","url_meta":{"origin":752,"position":2},"title":"Gas explosions in 1927 on Pittsburgh’s North Side","date":"November 14, 2012","format":"gallery","excerpt":"The tanks were never rebuilt. 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