Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-10-22
AN OIL BLAZE.
THE STANDARD OIL COMPANY GIVE
ST. PAUL an ILLUMINATION.
The Most Destructive Petroleum Fire
Ever Witnessed in This Region - Four
Thousand barrels of OH Goes Up In
Smoke-A Grand sIght-The Loss $4,000
Insurance $4,000.

Last night about 6;15 o'clock the extensive
oil warehouse of the Standard Oil Company.
of Cleveland, Ohio, was discovered to be on
fire, and in wonderfully short time was total
ly destroyed. The company's yard and tanks
are located on East Third street, where Trout
brook crosses it, and it was here that the
warehouse stood. railway track runs
through the center of the yards for conye-
nience in receiving and shipping oil. The
warehouse was on the upper side of the track,
Just in the rear of the St. Paul & Duluth railway
freight house, and to this location of the build
Ing, snd the strenuous exertions of the
st. Paul fremen, the oil company owes
the preservation of its two new
tanks and the moro essential and valuable
parts of the boiler house, by which is meant
the foundations, arches and boiler. The house
was not entirely finished, but WAS all enclosed
and rooted in. This house and the two large
receiving tanks were on the opposite side OF the
railway track before mentioned, the road bed
being elevated q couple of feet above the low
ground of the yards. The ground on the side
of the track occupied by the warehouse we.
flooded by nearly 100000 gallons of burning
oil, the blazing barrels which had contained il,
and the still flaming wreck of the building
Had 1t not been for the barrier presented by
The tack the Gil would have flowed all over the
ground occupied by the ranks ami
boiler room, and thus have cut
ut all opportunity for the fsemen to
work
1t did not take long for The FIRE iaddies and
Chief Strong to get on the ground, rotwith-
standing The distance. and hot many minutes
elapsed after their arrival befors they were
playing water at lively rate. MIR. Il. r.
Ssarle, tho oil oompapy's agent in st. Paul,
was one OF the first on hand, and by his diree-
tion attention was turned to saving the tanks
and boiler loom. For some time this was
done with one stream, the first work being
done on the boiler room, and when this was
veil wetted down, tho timber foundations of
the Two tanks were respectively played upon,
aud the FIRE thus com pletely check mated. Il
was tho intense heat alone which had ignited
| them, the direct action of the original fire
| Being baked by the railway track. On the
warehouse side the oil followed the depression
| of the ground down TO the lower end Of the
yard, TO a point opposite The boiler house,
wGere it fprm-6 all lake and gave all its
oncIvided powers TO burning 10 terceiy as pos
siole. IL paid attention 10 business, and no
mistake. The heat was SO intense that il was
d marvel how the ti,smen could work as near it
as they do - times, even saturated wi III water
as they were. Chief Strong was every where,
guiding and directing, Issuing orders, and
lending hand where necessary, and AIR. Searle
VS. an abis second, watching every move, and
guarding the interests OF his Company with
earnest zeal
On the railway track in the cehter of the
yaids were standing three of the Union Oil
Tank Compauy's tank cars each containing
about ninety one hundred barrels of oil
The wooden framework and platforms of the
Cara, on which the tanks rested, were all on
fire, aud the purgatorial heat from the ware
h1use side net heir contents TO boiling out OF
the safety valves, with which they are pro-
~ dob
them from bursting. The burning oil spouted
out of these valves in steady, fierce Jets, and
with screaming hiss that was eloquently sug-
gcstive OF internal combustion.
The scene was grand beyond description.
No mere theatrical spectacular display could
a. all approach the sublimity OF the effect, and
a reporter doesn't have time to indulge
ORIG in vain attempt to de-
scribe the understandable. Some 2CO0 people
witnessed it, to them We must refer those who
are DESTROYS Of getting word painting of the
stupendous spectacle. The whole city was
brilliantly illuminated,
The warehouse was entirely new, 60xl50 feet
In floor area. The first ioOr was elevated
seven feet above the ground, and the space
beneath was utilized fo- Storage. Tbs piles
on which the building rested were driven
twenty feet into the ground, and every pains
was taken to make IS q substantial structure
cspaple OF meeting all she demands which
the company might need TO make upon it. It
was built by Miner & Wagner, contractors, of
this city. The Standard Oil company had al
ready paid them $4,000 on the contract, and
they we're engaged in completing
the tanks and boiler room
when the fire occurred. The receiving tanks
referred to are each 20 feet high by rs feet il
diameter, and have capacity of 1900 barrels
Of oil apiece. The stock in store consisted
partly of the company's own product, also OF
| signal oil and mineral iubricating oils. The
value of the property destroyed and damaged
is probably not far from $50 600, though only
rough estimate can be given at present, as
the work not being entirely finished, the full
cost has not yet been summed up. BY 3 very
lucky chance, or rather by wise business fore
thought. MIR. searle hs6 finished placing an in
surance of $4,000 on the property only the
day before the fire. Eleven thousand of this
was on the warehouse and stock and $S, 600 on
the tanks. machinery and other property on
| the ground. The Insurance was distributed as
follows, With agency of Watson & Oxley's
| companies:
Union, Philsdely hia ................Sl, 800
Star. New York 50j