The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1884-12-26
A GREAT OIL FIRE.
Thirteen Tanks Explode with Ter
rife Force.
A Brilliant but Costly Illumination-Two
Workmen Lose Their Lives-Loss of
Property Variously Estimated at
from $500, 900 to 81, 100000.

ing the..heavens above New York, Williams
burg, Brooklyn and Jersey City, and as far
as the eye can reach in any direction, are
af1ame with the most brilliant illumination
ever witnessed in this city. Of all
the great fires that have devastated the
oil districts this is by far the most costly
and extensive. The tremendous heat from
$50, 900 barrels of burning oil renders the
work of the fremen impossible in the inn
mediate vicinity of the flames,
The fire began at noon yesterday in tank
f, located on the south side of the block
near the East River. The tank was Of
| twenty thousand barrels capacity, but con-
| tanned only about one thousand barrels of
naptha. Upward of ore hundred and fifty
men were at work in the refining depart
ment. All heard the report and were about
| to stampede. The foreman, however,
called them together, and having been
drilled to do duty in case of fire
| they were at once set to work to man
| the hose and hydrants which were scattered
| throughout the grounds. At the same time
| alarms were sent for the fire department,
and all the engines and trucks in the dis
| trict responded The block occupied by the
| works extends from First street to the East
| River. and from North Twelfth street to
| Bushwick Creek, covering an area of about
| thirty acres. The eastern half Of the block
| is occupied by substantial brick buildings
from two to four stories high, which are
| devoted to the manufacture Of tin
cans and boxes, stills, and machinery,
boiler and engine rooms, and general Of
| fees. Just west of these buildings were
located the thirteen huge iron tanks, rang
ing In size from 10000 to $4,000 barrels
EACH These tanks were separated from
the western portion of the block by two
foot brick fire-wall about the heightof the
tank. The wall extended from Twelfth
street toward BuShwickCreek about two
hundred feet and thence at an angle to the
East River West of the wall were located
the packing sheds, storage warehouses and
shipping docks, in all of which there were
large quantities Of oil. in tin cans and bar
rels ready for shipment
About half an hour after the first tank
| had exploded the second tank adjoining,
with twenty thousand barrels of crude oil,
shared like fate. The noise made by
this explosion was terrific, shaking. all the
| buildings for many blocks around, and shat
| tering the glass in the windows of the
whole block and of the gas works on the
| opposite side Of the street. AS soon as the
| second tank exploded the burning oil shot
| hundreds OF feet heavenward and feR in
liquid fire on the west side of the re-Wall,
| setting fire to the sheds and warehouses.
| In less than an hour the whole area to the
| edge of the river was sea of flame and the
| burning oil flowed over the edge of the
| docks, floating away with the tide and pre-
| senting a most beautiful spectacle.
| The tanks, which are constructed OF
NJ g.
covers for the escape Of accumulated gas
| or for relief in case Of an explosion. Again
| and again were these roofs thrown
| oned gas exploded with the noise OF
heavy cannon. Sometimes they would
explode half a dozen times and then
an ominous rumbling like an earthquake
would precede most tremendous explosion.
| Dense black smoke would obscure every
| thing for a moment, and the next lurid
| sheets Of flame would envelop all. The
roar of the fire was something awful, and
as the tanks exploded, adding fresh fuel
| the grandeur of the scene became more and
| more intense.
| On the north side of Bushwick Creek is
| located the Manhattan Beach Railroad
| Depot filled with cars, and between these
| and the creek, which is about four hundred
| feet WIDE the whole space was black with
| humanity. By six o'clock the last of the
| thirteen tanks had exploded, and all were
| sending forth their fiery contents. The
| firemen devoted all their energies to saving
| the brick structure east of the tanks.
| A large gang of men from the gas works
| and firemen hastily constructed three-foot
| dam across Twelfth street, so as to keep the
| burning oil as it escaped from the tanks
! from communicating with the adjacent
| buildings. By eight O'Clock the first tank
| had burned itself out and the iron had melt
| ed and collapsed to a shapeless heap. The
| other tanks also curled one by one and final
| ~ settled down like 50 much tin.
| The fire has just reached the gasoline
| tank, and a vast stream Of naptha and gas
| cline has flowed into Bushwick Creek the
| surface of which is wrapped in dancing
| flames. The East River tide is on the ebb,
and the flames are being whirled down the
| river to the great danger of the shipping
| m0ored on the Brooklyn side. A number OF
| canal-boatS and smaller vessels are now in
| flames, and the river is thickly dotted
with burning spars. The flames are
reaching for the Manhattan Depot, and the
| efforts of the firemen can not stop them.
NEW YORK, Dec 23.-The great oil
| fire had almost subsidized at seven O'Clock
yesterday morning, when another immense
tank of naptha exploded, and the flames
and smoke reignited the northern part OF
| Williamsburg. The firemen renewed theil
work, and at noon the fire was under control
| and some of the engines were sent home.
| Two lives at least are known to have been
lost in the fire. AT midnight Sunday night
| two employees of the works were on the
| dock pulling fire-hose from the water when
| Fire-Chief Smith yelled to them to fly fol
| their lives, as he saw a vast stream of burn
| ing oil rushing toward them Just then
another tank exploded and the dock was
enveloped i'll dense smoke. When it cleared
| away the fire chief looked for the men, but
| they were gone. Cut off from all escape,
| with fercely burning oil surrounding them,
| they probably jumped into the East River.
| The bodies of two men were found floating
| near the dock and are supposed to be the
| remains of the Inflated workmen. just
what the loss will foot up remains to be de-
| termined. The Secretary of the company
said that $780, 600 would cover it, but
later in the day the estimates suddenly
dropped at the companys Office, and the
| figures given ranged from SITS, 900 to $780,
| 600.
The opening of the Thunder Bay
Colonization Railroad is attracting con-
siderable attention at Winnipeg 1t is
| proposed to construct the road within
the municipalities of Port Arthur and
Needing, and adjacent to crown lands,
to the Northwest thereof, passing
through the valley of the Whitefish