Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1892-06-09
TOWNS WIPED OUT,
Pennsylvania Towns Wiped Out by a
Flood of Burning Coal
Oil.
It SWEEPS Over the Cities Without
Any Warning to the
Victims.
Oil City and Titusville are Now Being
Swept by the Fire
Fiend.

swept by the Fire
Fiend.
OH CRY, Pa, June 5.-Never before
in the history of Oil City and OH county
has there been such disaster, excitement
and turmoil as now. At 11:45 o'clock
this morning the city and country for
miles around was startled by two ex-
plcsions occurring almost simultare.
ously. An Associated Press correspond
ent was standing on Center street
directly in front of the Derrick Office
and on the approach to che Oil Cree
bridge. The creek is a raging torrent,
and Center street for one square
was solid mass of humanity,
and 500 or LOCO people had
approached this point of vantage,
watching the muddy waters rolling
along. About 1870 upon the opposite
side of the stream, green fluid floating
on the water was noticeable. This in.
creased rapidly in quantity and extent
and at last covered almost entirely the
yellow muddy waters of the creek. The
smell of gas and oil was perceptible and
several gentlemen back of the reporter
were discussing the danger should the
oil catch fire. Hardly were the words
uttered when about 200 yards up the
stream
A MASS OF FLAME
was shooting heaYenward. Run"
yelled a hundred voices, and the PEG.
pie turned like stampeded cattle and
started for the hills Hardly had they
started when terrific explosion rent
the air and the entire creek and for
hundreds of feet on each side seemed
one seething mass of flames and smoke.
The panic stricken crowd shrieked
madly in their efforts to escape Women
and children were tramped under foot
and about twenty were severely bruised
and had to be picked up by q few of the
cooler heads and carried out of harms
. way.
OIL creek usually is not more than q
. foot deep at this point, where it empties
into the Allegheny river, and is about
! one hundred yards wide. Directly at
its mouth is the iron bridge of the New
York, Pennsylvania s. Ohio railroad
/ About two squares further up the stream
is al iron and wooden bridge of the city
1 connecting the Third ward with the
city proper. On the east side of the
\ creek is the Trinity Methodist church
i on one side Of Center street and the
Derrick Office and the Exchange oppo-
n site. Across the creek and built
sgup squarely from the waters
II ledge was the hotel and livery
4 stable of j. g. Reinbold and the furni-
h ture house of Paul & Sons. These
buildings were built on narrow strip
& between the creek and the hills which
II rise precipitously, Immediately back of
4 them. About half mile from the post.
ri office, northward from here, on the
Il Western New York & Pennsylvania road
4 tank filed with gasolene was standing
& on o siding. Some young men passing
4 noticed the tank leaking, and seeing
y shifting engine approaching ran up the
side of the hill where they turned and
b looked down as the engine was passing.
They
WITNESSED A FEARFUL SIGHT.
!. A mass of flames shot hundred
feet into the air and the earth
I seemed to shake with an awful
! tremor. The engineer and fireman were
= seen jumping from the cab, and it is
supposed at this writing they were
burned to death or killed by the force of
the explosion, In an instant the flames
swept madly over the entire upper part
{ of the city, which is flooded by the oily
waters, and men, women and children,
who were moving from their houses
were caught and burned to death out.
right, or were drowned In the raging
! flood. At this writing seven CHASTITY
bodies have been taken from the flood and
are lying on the track unacceptable,
waiting for their friends to come and
claim them. At this end of the city was
! another iron and wooden bridge which
4 went down five minutes after the fire
started, the hugh iron structure being
broken and swept away like kindling
wood. From this bridge south for a
quarter of mile the entire town is de-
stroyed and the fire is still raging. The
fire department is making heroic efforts
to stop the flames. and the men are
rieking their lives every instant, as it is
not known at what moment many of the
immense tanks above here will burst end
send their burning contents down upon
them. The Imperial Refining COM
pany's large tanks, visible from here,
are all burning, and it is greatly feared
that the burning oil will again come
down the creek, and if it should little of
the business portion of the city will re-
main standing.
Paul & Sons furniture house, four
story building, was swept away with
100000 worth of stock, furniture, etc.
Reiubolds hotel and livery stable were
destroyed in few minutes A: D.
Reinbold and two others, who have been
identified,
WERE BURNED TO DEATH.
These three bodies have been recovered,
and it is not known how many more
are lost at this writing About
all the Third ward has been destroyed
and the fire is still doing awful work in
this part of the city. People are panic
stricken ali over the town, and all after.