Montrealers who used gasoline to clean things - with predictable results

Gasoline was once commonly used as a household cleaner, which turned out to be a pretty bad idea for countless people who burned to death while scrubbing away at home.
    One estimate suggests that cleaning with gasoline led to 25,000 deaths annually in North America. That figure sounds highly implausible because -assuming they mean the States and Canada - by ballpark proportion, that means 600 would be dying per year in Quebec and about 300 in Montreal.
    But there were indeed people dying after using gasoline improperly.
    The most famous of those deaths was Mafia bigwig Louis Greco, who was using a "flammable
solvent" while laying tile at his brother Tony's Gina's Pizzeria at 3212 Jarry E. when it caught and he was bunted to death on Dec. 3, 1972.
  Surely the most tragic was the fate of tailor Steve Horvath, 32, and Theresa Jekkel, 26, who were killed in a blast at 3493 Hutchison. They were fixing up the apartment that they were to share  as a wed couple until a five gallon tub of gasoline they were using to clean, left in the bathtub exploded.

   A certain Berthe Lacquerre, 21, suffered serious burns cleaning her dress with gasoline at 5573 Third Ave. Rosemont in 1930 (85 years ago today). She was wearing one of the dresses at the time and put the fire out by rolling around in the snow.
   Another young woman caused $500 in damages - quite a lot in 1923 terms - when she triggered a fire and automatic sprinklers while cleaning grease spots from her dress on St. James St.
   Then in 1937 a Mrs. Miron was set ablaze while using gasoline to clean a bed at 9 p.m. on a Saturday night. At neighbour at 7632 Drolet, who happened tobe a fireman, rushed to help her by wrapping her in a blanket. She died nonetheless.
  By 1948 authorities were still urging people to "be careful" when cleaning with gasoline. By 1952 they were recommending people simply not do it at all.