Past Derby Fire Department Chief James Butler, Fire Commissioner Mike Kelleher and firefighter Charles Stankye appeared Monday morning on “Valley Navel Gazing,” this publication’s weekly talk show.
Sunday (Dec. 6) was the 30th anniversary of the River Restaurant explosion in Derby, and the trio reflected on the tragic events of that day.
Click play to listen.
Butler was the Derby Fire Department chief during the incident, which claimed the lives of six Valley residents.
The massive blast was caused by a ruptured underground gas line. About 18 people were inside the popular restaurant during the explosion.
The following people lost their lives:
Concetta ‘Connie’ Ippolito Pogozelski, 57, of Minerva Street, Derby. She was the sister of River Restaurant owner Alphonse Ippolito. She was the widow of Charles Pogozelski. She worked as a waitress at the restaurant and was president of the Naugatuck Valley chapter of the Business and Professional Women’s Association, according to The Evening Sentinel archive.
Bernice Kiley Shortell, 59, of Elm Street, Ansonia. She was the wife of Valley football icon Matthew ‘Pop’ Shortell, Jr. The 1943 Derby High School graduate was working as a secretary at North Atlantic Medical Services at the time.
Dorothy Bernice Shortell, 21 of Elm Street, Ansonia. She was the daughter of Matthew ‘Pop’ Shortell and the late Bernice Kiley Shortell who also died in the incident. Shortell was a senior psychology major at Central Connecticut State University and a 1982 graduate of Ansonia High School, according to The Evening Sentinel. She was the former captain of the Ansonia High School Chargerettes basketball team and played volleyball and softball at the school as well.
Thomas Nedavaska, 31, a lifelong Shelton resident, was the son of Frank J. and Catherine Healey Nedavaska, Sr. of Shelton. He was the restaurant’s chef and a 1972 graduate of Shelton High School, where he played baseball.
The Evening Sentinel also reported that Stratford’s Albert Paolozzi, 60 and his wife, Mabel, 58, died in the explosion.
CLICK HERE for a Valley Indy retrospective on the explosion published in 2010. The article includes a 1985 video report from WCBS-TV out of New York.
A report on the explosion from the National Transportation Safety Board is below.
