Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-10-26
Coal Oil Lamp Explosions in England and
America


Coal Oil Lamp Explosions in England and
America
Some explosions of lamps employed for
burning coal have lately taken place in Eng
land, as well as in America, and, they have
offered fruitful matter for legal and scientific
investigation. An old gentleman named
Montmorency D. Stokes and his wife, having
lost their lives by such an explosion in Lon
don, his son, in giving testimony before the
coroner, stated that while he (the witness)
undertook to pour fresh paraffine oil into
lamp his father had lately purchased, his
mother was holding in her hand lighted
match, which she accidentally dropped into
the lamp, which Immediately exploded with
Kissing noise, shivering the globe and up
per part of the lamp into fragments, breaking
the windows and scattering the blazing fluid
over various parts of the room. 1t set fire to
the window. sash and furniture, and the de-
ceased were so frightfully burned that they
soon afterward died from the effects in
hospital The Paraffiue Light Company,
London, appeared before the coroner with
DR.. Odling, an analytical chemist and pro-
duced a sample of what was described as
genuine paraffine oil, and another sample of
oil, which it was asserted had been purchased
by the deceased. By the insertion of match
into the paraffine oil it didlnot explode, but
the other sample of oil did when the match
was applied to it. ~ o..
DR.. 0dling then experimental with part
of the explosive oil which had been left un-
touched in the can and an ordinary sample
of the Paraffne Light Company's oil. The
explosive substance gave of an explosive va
por in the ordinary temperature, whereas
the latter oil did not; lighted matches set the
explosive oil in sheet of flame. He denied
that the explosive substance was paraffine
oil. 1t seemed a dangerous substitute, and
H. all TO- kNn,,k
0.794, but the psraffine oil was 0s20, making
the oil that exploded to be 26o lower.
The jury in the case rendered verdict
that the deceased came to their death-from
the mortal effects of the explosion of the Va-
! pOr of substance called paraffine oil, which
was not the paraffine oil sold by the Paraf-
fine Light Company. This was q scientific
verdict, because it stated that it was the va
por of the oil not the oil itself which ex
| ploded. All the explosive oils, so called,
| must become gaseous and be mixed with OK
ygen before they will explode. English
chemists seem to make distinction between
parafine and petroleum oil. By the former
they mean those oils obtained from the dis
tillation of coal at low heat; by the latter
| they mean the oils obtained from ground
wells. We believe the petroleum oils also
contain parafine, and that from coal oils and
we'll oils various burning liquids of high
! and low gravity are obtained. English
chemists consider that mineral oil Under a
specific gravity of 0.sl5 should not be sold for
burning, as it is as dangerous to use in lamps
as the old explosive burning fluid composed
of1alcohol So per cent. and refined turpentine
l5. AS several explosions from mineral oil
vapors have taken place in New York as well
as London-as has been noticed previously
in our columns-we warn the manufacturer
of such oils against selling any for common
AInN sa nFo loWry fio nWrif
There is no excuse for their furnishing {
dangerous article, because its specific gravity
can be SO easily deter9qined.-SeieHtife Amsr
icGn. .trF Fg H.s.