George Vuknic, 24, rigger, died attempting to save Ira D. Shearer, 41, rigger, from suffocation, McKeesport, Pennsylvania, October 15, 1917. Shearer entered a manhole at the top of an elbow in a steel gas flue to remove a pin from a valve. The flue was five feet eight inches in diameter. It extended horizontally to the elbow and downward from it. Shearer reached the valve, which extended across the flue at the lower end of the elbow, but he was then overcome by gas. A man entered after Shearer but left the flue immediately upon seeing Shearer’s condition. The man was considerably affected by the gas before he got out. Vuknic, one of several workmen near the manhole, entered and descended to the valve, followed by another workman. Vuknic began to lift Shearer but was suddenly overcome, having been in the flue from one to two minutes. He and Shearer were later removed, but efforts to revive them were fruitless. 18502-1360
18502 – 1360
18502-1360Obituary
George Vuknic, aged 23 years, was killed as the result of an accumulation of gas in a big tank, which was being put in place at No. 2 blast furnace at the steel works.
Vuknic, a married man with one son, resided on the second floor at 404 Locust Street, McKeesport, Pa.. He was a native of Austria and had resided in this city for a number of years.
(Edited from an obituary in The Daily News, McKeesport, Pa., on Oct. 16, 1917.)