1929 Ottawa sewer explosion

Disaster in Ottawa, Canada On May 29, 1929, a series of explosions in the sewers of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, killed one person.Sewer Maintenance in a Cold Climate Journal (Water Pollution Control Federation) 25036277 Water Environment Federation F. E Ayers Mar 1969 41 3 418–423 The first blast occurred just after noon in the Golden Triangle area, west of the canal; over the next 25 minutes, a series of explosions travelled the length of the main line of the sewer system. The explosions first moved east under the canal and then moved through Sandy Hill under Somerset Street. After passing under the Rideau River, they followed the line as it turned north through what is today Vanier, before going through New Edinburgh to the point where the sewer system emptied into the Ottawa River.Ken Lytle Katie Corcoran Lytle The Little Book of Big F*#k Ups: 220 of History's Most-Regrettable Moments https://books.google.com/books?id=CSxQ07JVfS4C&pg=PA104 5 October 2011 18 May 2011 Adams Media 978-1-4405-1252-0 104 The blasts were fairly small, except when manhole covers were involved. At these points, the access to oxygen fuelled towering flames that erupted through the manhole covers onto city streets. The covers themselves were blown high into the air. Most of the damage from the sewer explosions occurred where sewage lines were attached to less sturdy pipes inside houses; blasts destroyed the plumbing in many residential basements. Besides property damage, the explosions caused one death and many injuries. The cause of the explosions was never definitively determined. Methane naturally occurs in sewers, but it never accumulates in a concentration powerful enough to cause explosions of the magnitude seen in Ottawa. The Ottawa Gas Company vehemently insisted that the disaster could not have been caused by its lines. It is now thought that the fuel stations and mechanic shops in the city—new since the introduction of the automobile—contributed to the calamity. While these shops were required by law to dispose of all waste oils in a safe manner, there were no inspections; dumping waste into the sewage system was commonplace. In combination with problems in the sewer system's design, this pollution likely caused the 1929 blasts. See also 1981 Louisville sewer explosions 1992 Guadalajara explosions 2014 Kaohsiung gas explosions References John Taylor Jeff Keshen Nicole St-Onge Engineering, audit, and fire: Governance and modernity in depression Ottawa Ottawa: Making a Capital https://books.google.com/books?id=_Q9Bb4EiAyoC&pg=PA333 2001 University of Ottawa Press 978-0-7766-0521-0 333–334 ...on 29 May 1929...with school children on the way home for lunch, the main trunk sewer in the central part of the city blew up in a series of explosions over a three-mile stretch...requiring in all about twenty-five minutes to cover the route from the Golden Triangle to the Ottawa River. 2011-10-08 Bibliography Article preview. One dead in blasts of Ottawa sewers; Several others are injured and buildings are wrecked in wholesale outbursts. Residents leave home. Woman, 71, succumbs to burns after flames from explosion set fire to her home. Various theories on blasts. Three injured at store. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0710F73854167A93C2AA178ED85F4D8285F9 May 29, 1929 The New York Times 2011-10-09 Ready to make known facts regarding sewer explosion https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zBUvAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NNsFAAAAIBAJ&dq=campbell-report%20explosion&pg=6812%2C4283663 Aug 17, 1931 Ottawa Citizen 7 ...Mr. Campbell of Boston had reported that it was due to gasoline; when challenged, however, he could not find any substantiation for the statement in the report. 2011-10-08 Tennis club wins suit against city. Judgment costs Ottawa $3,790.30 for damages to property. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yX4tAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5pgFAAAAIBAJ&dq=1929%20ottawa%20sewer%20explosion&pg=6926%2C681267 Jan 7, 1936 The Montreal Gazette 6 ...John Campbell, an engineer who investigated sewer gas explosions that occurred in Ottawa in 1929... 2011-10-08 Category:1929 explosions Category:May 1929 in Canada 1929 sewer explosion Category:Explosions in Canada Category:Sewerage Category:1929 disasters in Canada Category:1920s in Ottawa Category:1929 in Ontario