The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-12-10
THREE KESW|CK
men WILL DIE
Nearly a Score Seriously
Injured in Tuesdays
Disaster.
Burning Oil Thrown Upon Them
When the Gasoline Tanks
Exploded.
Rlskei Their Lives to Check a Con.
flgration at the Mining Com.
pany's Smslters.

REDDING. CAL, Dec. 9-The excite
ment and Juror caused by the gasoline
explosion at Keswick last night had SUBJ
sided to considerable extent to-day. and
particulars which last night were not OBJ
tainabIe have been secured. The acct
dent, although serious. was not so disas-
trous rs was re ported last night. Rumors
of all kinds were circulated on the streets
to the effect that there had been great
loss of life, but tonight it is known that
no fatalities resulted, but at least three of
the unfortunate victims are so badly
burned and injured that no hopes of their
recovery are entertained.
The explosion occurred about half an
hour after the night shifts at the big
smelters entered upon their duties. Only
a few men were i'll or about the company's
oilhouse at the time. and that building
was closed for the day. About 8 O'Clock
flames were discovered issuing from the
north side of the building, and immedi-
ately twenty-five or thirty workmen
rushed to the building, hoping to extin-
guish the fire.
Just how the blaze originated is not
known. There had been no fire in or
around the building, and it must have
been caused either by sparks from the
smelter- stacks or from a cigar-stump
thrown by careless workman.
The workmen procured buckets of water
and began the hight, which nearly resulted
in the loss of their lives. Almost stimuli
taneously with the throwing of the first
bucketfuI OF water on to the burning
building, there occurred dull, heavy ex.
plosion. A column of flame shot into the
air hundred feet, and the walls of the
oilhouse were hurled with tremendous
force outward. The flying boards were
ablaze and the burning Oil and gasoline
was sent scattering over the immediate
neigh borhood.
In a moment all was over, and rescuers
at once began searching for the victims.
Twenty.three men had been badly burned
and otherwise injured by the explosion.
Some were lying helpless short dis
lance from the ruins, while others not so
badly hurt were crawling away from the
fire in efforts to save themselves. After
telephoning to this city for medical aid,
the rescuers conveyed the victims to the
office and buildings Of the company, and
made them as comfortable as possible un-
til the physicians arrived. The flames
were soon extinguished, and, strange to
say, no damage resulted to other nearby
buildings.
H. Wise, clerk Of the Mountain Mines
Company, is the most dangerously injured
of the victims. Besides being badly burned
about the head and body, he inhaled the
flames of the burning gasoline and there
is no hope of his recovery. He has wife
who is now at his bedside. Arthur Dean,
a Redding boy, was seriously burned about
the face and body, and may lose his eye
sight entirely. One of the victims, man
named King. was brought to Redding to-
day.
All the hair was burned from his head,
his face was horribly scorched and both
his hands burned so badly that the flesh
fell from the bones. A young man named
Truman. working beside Dean on the
night shift, was burned so badly that his
chances of recovery are considered doubt
full. Pieces of fl sh fell from his face and
hands and he suffers untold agony.
dozen others are seriously burned. No
one is blamed for the disaster. The OIL
house was an old structure, formerly used
as storehouse, and contained besides a
large quantity of coal oil about $50 gallons
of gasoline, which, as soon as the water
came in contact wi tn it, exploded.