Eddleman v. Scalco

DIES, Chief Justice.

For some years, Victor Scalco, a Port Arthur produce dealer, had ripened bananas with acetylene gas. This was accomplished by placing boxes of unripened bananas in a closed refrigerator cooler and mixing calcium carbide with water which then gave off the acetylene gas. On August 3, 1967, Scalco, his son, and Alfred Alexander placed seventy-five to one hundred boxes of unripened bananas in a cooler and then mixed the calcium carbide with water and closed the heavy door of the cooler. At approximately 1:30 p. m., about one minute after closing the door, an explosion occurred…