Paint Plant Blaze-September 5, 1963

$10,000 Loss In Paint Plant Fire

A fire of undetermined origin resulted in the explosion of several drums of alcohol and anti-freeze stored in a 2 1/2-story wooden structure in the yard of the E & F King Paint Company plant at 640 Pleasant Street, Norwood, on Tuesday morning, causing an estimated $10,000 loss to the firm and injury to a Norwood firefighter.

Fireman Malachy Kelliher, 33, of 37 Maple Street, was taken to the Norwood Hospital and given X-rays for an injured left hand and then sent home
The blaze was discovered at 8:43 a.m. Tuesday when several 50-gallon drums exploded with a roar in the 21/2-story wooden building used by the firm for storage. An alarm was immediately sounded from the plant box and firemen on their arrival found the building ablaze from top to bottom.

Heavy hose lines were laid from hydrants along Pleasant Street and all vehicle traffic was rerouted away from the scene of the fire. The recall alarm, calling additional firefighters to the scene, was sounded at 9:02 a.m A valuable forklift, used in the building to move the heavy metal drums of fluids, was destroyed, along with the entire stock stored in the building. The building itself was declared a total loss. The all-out was sounded at 10:45 a.m.