The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1885-11-19
FATAL EXPLOSION
IN A PHILADELPHIA OIL WORKS
Followed by DsAstrOu, Fire, in which q
Number of Persons Are Barnsd In the
sssthIng Sea of OLA siokSniEE 10.
cidont of the Cobn ,Eration.

oidsut of the Copn ,EratiOn.
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. lS.-At S:45 O'CLOCK
this morning an oil tank exploded in the
Philadelphia LublicatiDg Works, at Swan
son and Moore streets. The explosion
was terrific, the report being heard fol
half mile around, and six men work
ing on Ecafold near the still were
blown through the air. Aleck Rank, one
OF tho workmen, was instantly killed. The
other five men, terribly injured, were re-
moved to tho Pennsylvania hospital.
Thirteen men and boy are missing.
Several OF the injured were taken to the
University Hospital on an engine Of the
Pennsylvania railroad.
An alarm Of FIRE ives struck Immediately
after the explosion, and engines soon re-
sponded and began to p)ur heavy streanR
Of water upon the AImss. Althtck clouSi
Of black smoke from the burning o!ltAnks
hoated north as far as Ksnsingtou, and an
immense crowd Of people gathered in the
vicinity, II Is said that the fire caught
from manhOle In one OF tho stills being
left open while the fires were lighted.
Several still, full OF oil, heated to nearly
red heat, kept the crowd away, but many
OF the fremen, carrying long lines VI hoRe,
penetrated through the line OF fifteen
tanks and threw water upon the flames
The smoke was 60 dense among the
stills that the llremen there st work had
to be relieved every few minutes in order
to get breath OF fresh air Every ambu-
lance in the tity went to the scene OF the
explosion, aud, although the flames rose
higher every minute and the danger OF
other explosions increased, brave hremen
kept up search in the red hot debris for
wounded men.
The fire spread so rapidly that danger
OF the explosion OF thirty more tanks was
imminent, but at 1880 o'clock the fire was
under control.
A boy named Charles Marshall, aged IL
years, is missing, and is supposed to have
been burned 10 death. The force at the
works being large, aud everything in con.
fusion, facts were hard 10 obtain.
These VINO Persisted.
ALEXANDER BANKS, aged 10, residing at No.
ll0 Mtflln street; burned to crisp. He
was assuperintendento Of the workmen and
had recently come from Pittsburgh.
CHARLES MARSHALL, a boy aged II, can
not bs found.
JosRPH RunISs9x, OF Delaware, aged 81
years, entire body terribly burned, can
not possibly recover.
PATRICK BOYLE, aged % years, head, trunk
and extremlties trighttully burned will
die. ~
CHARLES MCLEAN, aged 81 years, burned
about head and extremi.ieE; will prob.
ably die.
ARTHUR GRuEBSR, aged % years, body ter.
riby burned; will die
For soma time past the works have
been running TO their full capacity, aud
early this morning gang OF titeen men
were set at work to repair stone tounda-
tion under large iron still which con-
tained 100 barrels Of crude oil. The re-
pairs lad been partially completed and
several Of the men we're engaged in plas.
teripg up tho interior walls when the
mau6ole OF the still was blown of. setting
the oil on fro, fitting over the still and
causing the burning oil to fail on the men
below. =
The explosion was fjllowed a few
seconds later by second report and q
dense volume OF smoke, and the utmost
Consideration ensued among the work.
men. Considerable time elapsed before
any OF the fire apparatus reached the
scene, by which time the oil which still
remained in the tilted tank, and the por-
ton which had flowed to the ground was
burning hsrcely.
Within few minutes after the explo-.
sion the work OF rescuing those who had
been injured wSs commenced. An elderly
man, whose name was not learned, was
found lying against the fence which sur.
rounded the works, about seventy.fve
Yards from the exploded tank. He was
unconscious and terribly burned. Joseph
Robinson was discovered lying on the
ground close 10 pool Of burning oil. His
clothing was saturated with the oil, a p0r-
ton OF which had been burned Oft. He
was terribly burned, and when picked up
and carried to the company's works, a
portion Of the flesh OF the right leg came
off while surgeon was engaged III cutting
of his pantaloons.
Two more vic'im Of the explosion this
morning, Joseph Robinson and Arthur
Grueber, died this afternoon.
HEARrRESDINd INCIDENT.
Alexander Banks was working imme-
diately under the tank when the explosion
took place, While the rescuingparty was
searching for the victims his body was OBJ.
served, as the wind carried the smoke
away, laying on the ground close to the
foundation wall, and surrounded with
blszlng oil. One Of the men, named
Michael Kavsnagh, volunteered to rescue
him, and, notwithstanding the protests Of
his companions, crawled along on the
ground alter one OF the firemen had satu.
rated his clothing with water. When with.
in reach OF the unfortunate man he graspcd
his right foot, and when he made an effort
to drawthe body out the mans foot parted
from the body. Kavanagh dropped 1t
hastily and reached o place Of safety,
leaving tho body to the flames. Kava.
naHh's face and hands we're badly burned.
A few minutes alter KavAnaSh escaped
the tank fell and Banks body was hid
from view. Charles Mclean and Arthur
Grueber were also found lying close TO the
burning STILL the former being uucon:
scious, and both terribly burned. Several
other men who were working close to the
still at the time OF the expulsion were
also burned. but their injuries were COM
paratively slight. The injured were taken
TO the Pennsylvania Hospital, where their
wounds were dressed. The loss will reach
about $50, 900; insurance $1,000.