A Little History In and Around Buffalo, NY

As published in the Tonawanda News: Deadly fumes drop 8 fireman at Lucidol Plant by Tom Ernst NEWS Staff Writer Lucidol officials are still uncertain today as to exactly what caused some 150-200 pounds of organic peroxide to begin to decompose and emit choking fumes that felled eight Town of Tonawanda fire fighters yesterday afternoon. One fireman was still in Kenmore Mercy Hospital today. The other seven were released after treatment yesterday. Listed as "fair" condition was Joseph Spath, 29, of 196 Oakridge Ave., a Sheridan Park Fire Co. volunteer. All eight were stricken when the "inhaled a toxic substance" hospital officials reported. Some 100 fireman from throughout the town responded when the alarm was turned in about 12:45 p.m. from the Lucidol Division plant at 1740 Military Road, near Sheridan Drive. A chemical reaction, possible caused when a faulty cooling unit allowed the compounds temperature to rise, causing billowing smoke to rise fro...

As published in The Evening News of the Tonawandas: FINAL TOLL OF DEAD IN BLAST MAY BE 11 Efforts were being made today at the Erie County Morgue to identify two bodies which were recoved from debris of the Lucidol plant. More gruesome, however, was the task of morgue attendants who were trying to piece together what appear to be parts of several bodies of men killed in Wednesday's tragic explosion. Seven of the blast victims have been identified. There are four men still unaccounted for. The final death toll is expected to be 11. While emergency workers continued to probe the Town of Tonawanda plant rubble, the Erie County Medical Examiner's office was trying every known means of identifying the two bodies so badly charred as to be nearly unrecognizable. Parts of bodies in the morgue defied easy identification. \ Last body identified was that of Thomas Williams Jr., 426 High St., Buffalo. The NEWS yesterday was the first Niagara Frontier newspaper to list MR. Wlli...