3-089-513 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Edison works, West Orange, New Jersey, 10 December 1914. View showing the aftermath of the fire at Edison's factory. The fire was triggered by highly combustible nitrate film exploding. Nitrate film at that time was composed of nitrocellulose, also known as gun cotton, a major ingredient of naval munitions, and known to be highly combustible if in an unstable state.