The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-12-23
The Second Grand Explosion of Gas
holders i'm Cincinnati.

From the Cincinnati Commercial, 2Oth.1
HOW THE CITY WAS sTARTLED-sECoND Ex-
PLoS1oN AT THE GAs-woRKs-HoLDER NUN.
BER FIVE AGAIN DESTROYED.
At twelve minutes after 5 o'clock last
evening the city felt the repetition of the
sensation it experienced at ten minutes
after L o'clock (noon) on the oath of MAY,
1S69-telt the shock and heard the rumble
and roar, as then and, more, the grandeur
Of the Illumination, that followed was an
added sensation. At twelve minutes after
5 clock last evening, darkness had notyet
set in; twilight was just deepening into.
night, and people were "lighting up" all
| over the city. The darkness was Of suffi-
cient strength, however, to carry to every
corner of every street and alley of the city
the grand illumination of the fierce blast of
| fame that went up second time from the
| Inflated Holder No. 3" of the Cincin-
matt gas-works. In the immediate vi
cinity of the explosion the conclusion
was not near so palpable as in those parts of
| the city on or above the level of the top of
| the holder. All along 4th street the shock
! was noticed with the sound, and every
where in the city those who did not feel the
conclusion, or even hear the explosion,
were startled about out Of their senses for
the moment by the brilliant, binding flash
of pinkish light that filled the entire atmos-
phere as far as the eye could reach.
Those who felt and saw that something
extraordinary had taken place, and yet did
not remember the first occurrence of the
same kind, were awe-struck and terrified at
the immediate presence of what seemed to
be a phenomenon full of sinister import.
Those who thought Of the gas Works-and
they were many-shuddered at the specta-
Gle Of crushed and crisped fellow-creatures
that was presented to the minus eye; :,
AS at noon-tinle lover q year and halt
ago, there was rush Of thousands of PEG.
pie in the direction of the spot, notwith-
standing the rain that was falling and the
two or three inches of snow and water that
covered the sidewalks. When they reached
the destroyed holder they found fierce
fire of gas still burning above the water of
the reservoir, as the gas issued from the
bottom Of the wreck. The first inquiry
that everybody made was, "Anbody
killed." and it was made in q breathless
way, with an anxious tone; and the re-
Spouse OF "Nobody'' must, we are sure,
have been grateful to all. The loss, then,
was fortunately confined to property, less
than S50, 900 in the total, with no insurance.
The holder was of Nos. 8 and IL boiler
iron, equal to pressure of 300 pounds to
the square inch, 127 feet in diameter, and
40feet in height.
When our reporter reached this spot,
within ten minutes after the explosion, the
scene was still brilliantly illuminated by the
big sheet of fame that waved its blue and
red arms over the mass Of iron that showed
above the deep pool OF water.
There were shattered walls east and
south, where the explosion had exerted its
greatest force, and the columns had crushed
everything in their way, and on Front street
were the faces of q dense crowd.
Luckily, the accident had occurred when
one watch there was off, and the other one
vet to come on. The men nearest to the
danger were the engineer and fireman IN
the sEeXhausto room and clerk. in the
office. The former rushed away In the right
direction ere their little building could
bury them The latter heard rumbhng, |
as of a car in the street, he thought. In
the same instant he saw The flash, felt the
heat, and dashed out of the door into the
street just as one Of the columns crushed
down upon the office roof.
/: We cannot state positively how this acct |
dent came about any more than we could |
how the one Of 1869 happened. The theory |
forced upan us as q reasonable one, how /
aver. Ia that the - holder" was full to its |
utmost capacity (5O0, 600 cubic feetb and
tl,afi fha nress1ire was still on that as it !
Gould rise no higher, It heeled over on the |
EAST. allowing an escape Of gas anda mix
ti,ra ofs atmospheric air on the west that
ne volume OF gas ascending was lgnttesa
by a fame from the Globe RolilngsMiil' /
Ieading to fire and explosion. Very iortu, |
nately. the shock was not communicates
10 anyos the other holders OF retorC-nousss. |
Iris affair follows very close upon tne |
heals ns- the destruction of the gas-Works /
Of Worcester. Mass, whereby the .superln-t /
das,s 30 thaS com many lost his Hte.s Ih6 i