SHELTON — The massive blaze that leveled the B.F. Goodrich Sponge Rubber mattress factory on March 1, 1975, devastated thousands and forever changed the city’s financial trajectory.

Louis Oliwa, Sr. — one of 700 firefighters at the scene — vividly remembers that moment.

“The blast was so loud we heard it in east Derby,” recalled Oliwa, a firefighter with the Derby Fire Department’s East End Fire Company at the time.

Oliwa recounted his memories of the blaze Wednesday during a special ceremony unveiling a monument honoring the first responders at the site of the fire, now home to Veterans Memorial Park and the Riverwalk off Canal Street. He was among dozens — many who like him battled the blaze — at the Rotary Club pavilion for the unveiling of the B.F. Goodrich monument, designed by landscape architect James Tate.

The monument honors the efforts of the 700 firefighters from multiple surrounding towns, some as far away as Norwalk, who battled 200-foot flames in freezing temperatures for more than eight hours.

“When the flames went out, thousands of people lost their jobs, livelihoods were affected, a major part of Shelton's economic foundation was destroyed,” said Robert Araujo, president of Huntington Fire Company.

“But we were not defined by the tragedy,” he added. “Shelton rose from the ashes. Lives were changed forever.”

The FBI labeled it the largest arson case and peacetime bombing in the country. The explosion was felt for miles, including at the Echo Hose Hook and Ladder Co. 1 in downtown Shelton, where windows were blown out.

Officials said several gasoline drums, wrapped in explosives, were ignited. The impact of the explosion tore through the walls and floors of the hub of the complex, where mattresses, pillows and flotation devices were made.

At the time of the incident, the plant was empty except for two security guards and a boiler room attendant, officials said.

Oliwa said East End Fire Company was hosting a special event when all in attendance — including then Fire Chief LeRoy Brainard who was the guest speaker — felt the world shake.

After the blast, the Shelton tone went on, and Brainard left immediately for the scene, Oliwa remembered.

"We rolled,” Oliwa said. “As our trucks pulled out of (the building’s) apron, someone squealed in with their car and yelled ‘Downtown Shelton is on fire.’ As we drove closer we could see the giant orange glow in the sky. We really thought Shelton on fire.”

Mayor Mark Lauretti praised the first responders who spent three days fighting the fire. He said all remain amazed there were no fatalities.

“I remember that day ... I was on my way home with my father and my brother from a basketball tournament,” Lauretti recalled.

“We were coming down (Route) 34 in Derby and before we got downtown,” Lauretti told the crowd. “We saw an orange glow in the sky. We had no idea what it was until we turned the corner at the Derby Shelton Bridge.”

Oliwa remembers feeling the intense heat from the blaze as their fire truck drove on the nearby Commodore Hull Bridge.

"We began fighting fire with 1 ½ 350 jet turbo nozzle ... we might as well have been shooting a water pistol at it,” he said with a laugh.

Throughout the night, the firefighters heard several explosions throughout the building. In the early hours of March 2, Oliwa said there was a large explosion, blasting windows and throwing debris. He said the blast was so great it blew one firefighter several feet into a huge crater at the back of the building, into the bottom of a pit full of foam rubber.

“He was saved,” Oliwa recalled.

In the following days, Oliwa said proof of the initial blast’s impact came when his then father-in-law, a general purchasing manager for BF Goodrich, was walking down Howe Avenue, turned on Hill Street, looked down to found his slide rule that had been on his desk at the time of the explosions.

“It is incredible, especially when you realize how far away it was,” Oliwa said.

The massive ruins sat as a downtown eyesore for years before the city redeveloped the property, which is now home to the Shelton Riverwalk and apartment and business complexes.

“It had been dilapidated, hazardous,” Lauretti said about downtown in the aftermath of the fire. “This is what happens in areas that are economically depressed. But something very good came out of this ... look at this beautiful site.”

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