The Portland daily press., 1894-06-06
STANDARD OIL WORKS ABLAzE.
A Great COnfiagration Narrowly
Ayerted.


As 1t Was Much Property Was Burned
The Wind Blew in the Right Direction
and the Great Oil Tanks Were Safe
Two Firemen Badly Scorched on the
Roof of the Old Ice House.
Yesterday at about 100 o'clock Mr.
Timothy Roman discovered small blaze
in a very dangerous locality. 1t was right
in the midst of the great and inflam-
mable plant of the Standard Oil Co. at
Ligonia. 1t was.in the corner of a build
ing that was formerly the "retort"
building, where coal oil was made, but
which is now used as a storehouse. There
was small gu antity of oil and naptha
in barrels and all the company's sleds,
four sleighs and other implements, etc,
generally to be found in such place.
Ligonia has hydrants and wrenches.
but the
VILLAGE HAS NO HOSE.
This is because the town of Cape Eliza
beth does not provide fire apparatus. and
each village is supposed to provide for
itself. Ligonia has not done SO, because
Jwo or three men own most of the build
1ngs and preferred to carry heavy in
surance.
AS soon as the fire was discovered the
hose of the Kerosene Company was got
out. 1t is an old black, oily affair,
about 40 years OF age, and it burst as
soon as it felt the water pressure. Luck
lily the varnish company, just across the
street, had new hose. This was i'm
have prevented the tremndous confagra-
tion that threatened. 1t was
THE WIND THAT SAVED THE
PLANT.
This old brick storehouse, where the
fire caught, was luckily ON the northeast
side of the mass of buildings. The
wind was blowing strongly from the
southeast directly away from the other
buiIdinsg. On one side, only 40 feet
away, was the low brick building con-
tanning the great tank of naptha. On
the other side was the great kerosene oil
tank from which the tanks on the cars
are fed. Several of these cars with full
tanks, all ready to be hauled away,
were close at hand Jon the tracks. Had
these tanks become ignited and burst
the whole village might have gone. But
thanks to the wind and the Varnish
CoMpany's hose'and the Portland steam
ers. Cum berland and Falmouth that
arrived in about 20 minutes or half
hour the fire was confined to this one
storehouse. SO far as the plant was con-
cerned. Even the great heaps of oil
barrels in the path of the wind did not
ourn. but the large ice house, over 100
yards distant, caught from the sparks,
and this makes the second and
NOT LEAST IMPORTANT CHAPTER
of the story. 1t was about 20 minutes
of TWO, after the storehouse fire was under
control, after Chief Jackson had sent
home the Cumberland, and it had
reached the top of the hill in Portland,
the gable end of this great Ice house,
standing right at the end of the bridge
burst into flame. 1t is a very high
AL CAbCDSlOu 1dutltI WdS puU
up to the caves. Another was laid up
along the roof. 1t did not reach the
ridgepole by six or eight feet. Dan Nc
Carthy and Ed. Davis of Hose 6, and f.
W. Brice of Ladder 8, went up ON to the
roof to fight this blaze. They die not
know that the interior of the roof be-
meath them was all ready to burst into
fame Men shouted and
YELLED TO THEM TO COME DOWN
The whole roof of that building burst
into fame in less time than it takes TO
say so. The three men slid down the
ladders as rapidly as they could. Nc
earthly got down first, :.and was all right.
Ed. Davis
FELL FROM THE LADDER,
when he was about half way down. The
side of his face was badly scorched and
SO were his hands. He was stunned by
the fall, but was not much hurt, and
was able to walk home
BRICE FEARED THE WORST.
He was the Lass, and he caught on the
o his rubber coat. His hand were so
burned that they were blistered all over
and his face was also burned. He was
placed in wagon and taken to the
Maine General Hospital as quickly as
possible.
In the old ice house were As tons of
loose hay, belonging to Dyer & Jordan.
1t might have been the old dry hay that
caused the whole roof to burst forth so
suddenly, or as some say, gas may have
collected in the building because of the
oily nature of the surroundings. In
any event the roof was ablaze from end
to end in minute after the corner
caught.
The hay and building were of course
a total loss. The former was insured
for 5000, which will about cover the
loss. The building belonged to the Ker-
osene Company, and was not insured, as
none of the plant is.
1t was estimated that the loss of the