Branchburg chemical building explodes: This week in Central Jersey history, July 31-Aug. 6

An explosion ripped through the Arenol Chemical Corp. building in Branchburg on Monday, Aug. 3, 1998, spraying debris 20 to 30 feet and spawning a fire and a thick, black plume of smoke visible for miles.

There were no injuries at the building that housed the pharmaceuticals manufacturer, but a section of Route 22 was closed for a time.

Here's a look at events that happened in Central Jersey from five, 10, 25, 50 and 100 years ago this week.

Five years ago

July 31, 2018: An hours-long standoff between SWAT team members and a man who barricaded himself in his High Bridge home ended with the man in police custody.

July 31: Dozens of nursing home workers at Alameda Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare in Perth Amboy held an informational picket in Perth Amboy, calling on management to make basic improvements to nurses' jobs.

Aug. 4: It was reported Lavar B. Jones, 37, of South Plainfield, was indicted on charges of vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a fatal accident in connection with the death of Sergio D. Cuxun-Tista, 39, of Plainfield, as he exited a taxi.

Aug. 4: The Bouncing Souls Stoked for the Summer 2018, with Against Me!, Titus Andronicus, The Smoking Popes and Tim Barry, was presented at The Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury Park.

Aug. 5: A USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey investigation found marijuana users in New Jersey were arrested at the highest rate in the nation by local police departments, some of which reported that more than a third of their arrests were for pot, it was reported.

10 years ago

July 31, 2013: Hector Muniz, a school secretary at the Dr. Herbert N. Richardson 21st Century Elementary School in Perth Amboy, was found guilty in Old Bridge Municipal Court of possessing and selling alcoholic beverages on school property without the written permission of the Perth Amboy Board of Education.

Aug. 1: It was reported Plainfield Public Library archivist Jeff Wassen had rediscovered a letter from President John Quincy Adams in which he politely declined an invitation to attend a Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society event in the late 1830's, citing his flagging health during a heat wave.

Aug. 1: Cassidy Hall, 5, of Piscataway, won five of nine BMX races she entered and placed second in four at the Empire State Nationals in Kingston, N.Y., it was reported.

Aug. 2: Eddy Martinez-Esteve of the Somerset Patriots, the Atlantic League's leading hitter, was lost for an undetermined amount of time after he was hit by an 0-2 fastball from Southern Maryland Blue Crabs starter Gaby Hernandez in the sixth inning of a 1-1 game with two runners on base.

Aug. 4: Black Sabbath performed at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel.

1998

July 31, 1998: Michael Giannone, 36, of Brooklyn, N.Y., labeled by authorities as a career offender, was sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison for robbing four Middlesex County banks.

July 31: Paul Timmendequas, the brother of the man who raped and killed Megan Kanka, pleaded guilty in New Brunswick to a second-degree charge of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl and endangering the welfare of a 15-year-old girl on Monday, March 23, 1998, in his East Brunswick home.

Aug. 4: For the second straight year, Iselin came away from the New Jersey American Legion tournament with a fourth-place finish, eliminated in a 9-2 loss to West Windsor-Plainsboro at Mercer County Park in West Windsor.

Aug. 6: Quick-thinking lifeguards revived Victor Monge, 6, of Bedminster, who stopped breathing while snorkeling at a pool in The Hills condo development.

Aug. 6: It was reported matchbox20, Soul Asylum and Semisonic would perform on Friday, Aug. 7, 1998, at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel.

1973

July 31, 1973: The New Jersey Chapter of the American String Teachers' Association (ASTA) presented a recital by cellist A. Kunrad Kvam and bassist Homer Mensch, and guest pianist Robert Dix Lincoln, with pianist Lillian Sudall accompanying Mensch in one work, on the Douglass College campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

Aug. 1: The two Plainfield Republican mayoral candidates in the June primary election ― winner Councilman Paul J. O'Keeffe and losing GOP candidate Gertrude Christiansen — spent a total of $10,888 in an effort to win a job paying $5,000, it was reported.

Aug. 2: A record four-inch downpour of rain between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. caused severe flash-flooding in many Central Jersey areas and tied up traffic on major highways during the commuter rush.

Aug. 4: At Roosevelt Park in Edison, Ed Destler pitched a two-hit shutout in leading Edison Boys League to a 6-0 victory over South Brunswick National in the Little Fellas championship game.

Aug. 5: Jeannie Salandi, 23, of Highland Park, and Elbert Kersen, 53, of Union, were killed when two Arab men opened up with grenades and pistols in a crowded Athens, Greece, airport. Kersen's wife, Katie, 49. was injured.

1923

Aug. 1, 1923: An explosion at 3 a.m. shattered the entire front of a store recently purchased by Anna Small at the corner of Handy Street and Lee Avenue in New Brunswick. Police believed the place was either dynamited or shattered by a heavy charge of gun powder.

Aug. 2-4: The movie, "The Glimpses of the Moon," featuring Bebe Daniels, Nita Naldi and David Powell, was shown at Reade's Strand Theatre in Perth Amboy.

Aug. 4: In baseball, the Crescents beat the Hopewell Club, 6-5, in 11 innings.

Brad Wadlow is a staff writer for MyCentralJersey.com

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: This week in NJ history, July 31-Aug. 6