THE SPRINGFIELD UNION, Mass. July 19, 1946 

* Onset, Wareham, Massachusetts explosion
* Buzzards Bay Resort butane gas disaster

The front page has a two column heading: "Eight Killed, 38 Hurt When Gas Explosion Rocks Center of Onset" with subhead. (see images) 
Complete with all 26 pages, light toning and minor wear at the margins, generally very nice.

Background: The 1946 Onset explosion carries profound historical and legal significance because it served as a brutal wake-up call regarding the volatility of highly compressed liquid petroleum gases (LPG) like butane and propane, which were rapidly expanding into residential utility grids after World War II. At a time when modern gas safety protocols were virtually non-existent, the sheer violence of the blast and the subsequent judicial inquest exposed severe vulnerabilities in utility emergency response times and public warning systems. The tragedy became a foundational case study in municipal liability and utility negligence across New England, forcing utility companies to drastically overhaul their dispatch infrastructure and establish strict, immediate shutoff procedures when dealing with reported line ruptures. Furthermore, the decimation of Onset Avenue permanently altered the architectural and economic landscape of the historic resort village, shifting its postwar identity away from high-density, multi-story wooden commercial blocks toward more modern, stringently regulated fire-resistant structures.