Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-05-14
Fighting $ g Burning g Oil.
A Terrible Struggle to Save Oil
 City from Destruction.
HOUSES IN DANGER TORN DOWN.
Thousands of Barrels of Blazing Petro- leum Pouring from the Tanks-Fire De- partments for Miles Around Warned to Watch the Greek.

leum Pouring from the Tanks-Fire De-
 partments for Miles Around Warned to
 Watch the Greek.
 OIL CITY, Pa, May lA-The largest oil fire this city has seen in five years began burning with furious madness scarcely mile and a half distant An oil tank containing 16,000 barrels of crude petroleum was struck by lightning during heavy storm Saturday. The tank was owned by J. B. Smithman & Co, formerly prominent in the Keystone Oil company, and was insured for Sl0,00Q Hardly had the lightning struck when great volumes of flame and smoke burst forth, hissing and leaping far pp into the air. An alarm was at once sounded, and a gang of men were detailed to throw up earthen em- bankments to prevent the burning oil from rushing over the surrounding country when the tank should overflow.
 Fortunately the tank was situated on flats near Oil Creek. Close at hand stand dwell ings, the Penn, the Independent and the Key stone refineries, oil cars and tanks and pipe lines.
 The fire department was called out but it was powerless to act except by wetting down the surrounding property. The tank would have been shot, but no cannon could be pro- cured. Meanwhile the dense smoke arose in clouds which were pierced by fierce flames flashing eighty feet into the air Pumps were rigged and started, but sediment in the tank clog gged the pipe and no oil could be drawn cf. Saturday afternoon and night it burned while hundreds of people anxiously awaited the time when the contents of the fierce caldron would overflow.
 Sunday morning the critical moment ar- rived In the bottom of the tank were sev- eral inches of water. When the oil burned 1 down low enough the water became heated ! to boiling point, and the burning oil, seeth- ing and roaring, was poured over every side of the tank Three thousand barrels of fam ing petroleum rushed across the flats to Oil creek, near by, consuming all brush and luu,- ber in it's path A great sheet of burning oil hissed distance of twenty-five yards over the creek to the opposite shore and ran up the bank, ileaping high into the air, until it reached another tank containing s, 900 bar rels of petroleum. The latter ignited, and another cloud of smoke and flame arose. i Fortunately the wind was blowing away i from Oil City then. So great was the smoke when beth tanks were afire that it reached nearly to Titusville, eighteen miles distant. When an oil tank is burning nothing can stop { it Surrounding property may be wet down, 1 but that is all the good water will accom- plish. Fears were felt, however, lest when ] the second tank should overflow the burning ! refineries, tanks, tank cars, dwellings and lumber yards, and eventually reach the town Messages were sent to Meadvine and Titus vile, where local fire departments were put under orders to await emergency calls to re- spond in case this should occur.
 The direction of the wind changed at s p. m. yesterday, and a stiff breeze began blowing toward this city. The smoke tuu,- bled in heavy dense masses from the tanks. and overhangs the town. Into the smoke flames burst with furious madness giving to l the clouds rosy tinge which came and went every few moments in a most beautiful manner. Great apprehension was felt, for it was possible for the burning oil to come sweeping down the creek A dozen booms were thrown across the creek to prevent the further spread of the oil
 Oil City is a fourishing town of I2OOO in- habitants, and the creek flows through the heart of the place close by costly hotels, the Oil Exchange, manufactories, stores and res- dences. Houses near the burning tanks were torn down, pipe lines were banked with mud, and many families living quite a distance from the fire moved out of their homes Fur- niture. bedding, pictures and clothing were piled up in front yards, and teams were few and hard to hire.
 Residents of the oil regions have been very much afraid of burning petroleum ever since the terrible oil fire which occurred near Titus vile in 1881. At that time 250, 900 barrels burned, the creek was afiame for two miles and the fire continued three days and three nights There can be no repetition of that disastrous event, for in the most extrems cases only 125, 900 barrels of fluid can burn. J. T. Welch, gauger for this district of the National Transit company, states that inclu- ding the oil burning, there was a chance for not more than 65,OOO barrels of petroleum and 5,oo0 barrels of naphtha to be ignited This could only occur in case the overflow of the second tank rushed down the creek to- wards this city, and then it is by no means certain.