Polk County Old-Timers May Remember this Dark Day

[Bambi Buster]

40 years later: Remembering the deadly Benton fireworks disaster

"I could see a cloud coming up and mushrooming like an automic

newschannel9.com

"....."I could see a cloud coming up and mushrooming like an atomic bomb, and I thought what in the world is this," said James Burris, the former Chief Deputy...."

 

[timberjack86]

I wasn't here when it happened but I've heard a few people talk about it. One man told me he was on Benton mountain and when the explosion happened the whole mountain moved under his feet!

 

[fatboy]

I remember that day. I was surprised how they were able to keep it quiet. Friends and relatives in Polk county were as surprised like everyone else

 

[Kirk]

I was Pall Bearer for David Webb at his funeral. I knew 4 of the people that were killed.

 

[Gravey]

Wow!

 

[ttf909]

Remember that. Was playing in the front yard of my aunts home. Jones drive in Cleveland. Thought it was an earthquake

my family always sold fireworks on the 4th holiday and new years . Remember the firemarshall would come around looking for illegal stuff and some gov agency would send plain clothed folks to try and buy the illegal stuff. We never had any .

 

[Snake]

40 years later: Remembering the deadly Benton fireworks disaster

"I could see a cloud coming up and mushrooming like an automic

newschannel9.com

"....."I could see a cloud coming up and mushrooming like an atomic bomb, and I thought what in the world is this," said James Burris, the former Chief Deputy...."

Not from Polk but just north of it and yes I remember it well .

 

[Kirk]

It was a rough time. David Webb and I went to high school together. His older brother ran the worm farm and several of us knew he was working there. He was quiet about the M-80s and M-100s. He just told us he was making $10 a hour. That was nice money for back then.

The day it blew up I was in east Cleveland standing in a parking lot when I heard the explosion. I’m had no idea what had happened. It was a substantial concussion.

Later that afternoon David’s wife called the Mom of a mutual friend and told her that she thought David was dead. She had been scheduled to work that day but had morning sickness (pregnant) and didn’t go to work. Had she gone in to work the total would have increased by two victims. Initial reports on the news stated that a pregnant female was among those believed to be dead.

The funerals were actually attended by a lot of national media. They called it a “clandestine explosive factory” and it was all over CNN. They had footage of us getting in cars after the funeral and actually made it look almost mafia style.

I was questioned by the ATF and local police just to see if I knew anything. So we’re a couple of the other pall bearers. Guilt by association. We were all cleared and never heard anything more from them.

The thing that has puzzled me the most about that entire tragedy was the “how it happened.” I heard everything from a microwave to an electric drill used as a stirrer set it off. When it exploded it blew bodies apart and hurled them unbelievable distances.

Been a lifetime since it happened, as a 61 year old I look back and see the tragedy and the fact that David never met his child.

 

[Carlos]

That's awful, I'd never heard of it until now.

 

[medic]

I remember it. I knew the Web family and the First responders that worked the call.

 

[timberjack86]

I drive by that place from time to time and you'd never know what happened there by the looks of it.

 

[hoghunter65]

I remember it well, knew several people that worked there, I was in an auto parts store in Cleveland when it exploded, I thought it was going to break the windows they rattled so hard, the one thing I'll never forget was seeing police and ambulance workers walking up the road picking up body parts.