The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-01-31

FEAR ACETYLENE.
Hudson City Section Alar-
med at Presence Of This
Dangerous m
CHIEF C0NWAY'S VIEWS
He Opposes the Storing OF
the Explosive Within
City Limits

Considerable excitement has been Great
ed in the lower portion of the Hudson
City section by the rumor that large
quantities of the stuff used in the manu-
facture of acetylene gas was kept stored
in an old frame structure at No. u con-
cord street, between Hoboken avenue and
Fleet street.
The building, which stands alone on Inc
east SIDE of the street, is a dilapidated
two-story affair and it was formerly used
as a portion of the Aymar China Decorat-
ing works. Recently repairs have peen
made to it, and although occasionally an
EXPRESS wagon is seen to leave goods
there. the building apparently had no
regular occupant. 1t is situated WITHIN a
few hundred feet of some of the finest
residences in this section of the city, and
the rumor of the dangerous character OF
the stuff said to be stored there mas
created widespread alarm.
The recollection of the terrible hre ana
explosion by which two men lost their
lives and a l,.mber of iremen Narrowly
escaped injury at the acetylene gas
works, Montgomery and Fremont streets,
on Christmas eve, 1897, is still fresh in the
minds of the people, and it has caused the
fear of a possible repetition of that cal
amity with results which might be more
direful in a section so thickly populated
as is the one in which the dangerous
substance is now said TO be stored.
Fire Chief John Conway as Fire Marshal
of the city, is supposed to have a know'-
edge of any building the character of the
contents of which would be considered
dangerous. When seen by a News re-
porter. at No. Z Engine House on Sum
NIT avenue, last night, the Fire chief
said
Eyes, it is true that his dangerous
stuff is kept stored in a building at NO.
% Concord street. By my orders captain
Bissell made a personal examination OF
the premises and reported to me that aoo
pounds are now there. 1t should not De
permitted within the city lines.
The dangerous character of the stun
was shown at the fire which occurred at
Montgomery and Fremont streets, on De-
cember "a, 1897, in which two men lost
their lives. That 1, myself, was not killed
was due to the p~rovidential interference
of an unknown man who knew the daE-
gerous character of the stuff manufac-
tured there and stopped me as l was about
to enter the building.
1.-The Fire Board has not yet granted a
permit to the Acetylene Company to
store this stuff at the Concord street
place. but had previously granted per-
mission to store four hundred pounds of
it in a building on Brunswick. near First
street. When 1 found the building on
Concord street was being used for the
storage of the stuff l communicated the
fact to the Commissioners. An applea-
ton for a permit was Immediately made.
1t has not yet been granted and should
not be. The stuff is in nowise dangerous
unless water strikes it. If a hre was 10
start in the building-as was the case
with the other acetylene plant-we wouid
be obliged to use water or chemicals 10
extinguish it, and once this was done
who can tell what would follow?
at as Chief of the Fire Department,
would be the one to order the men into
the building, and I, not the Commission
ers who granted the permit, would be re-
sponsible for what would happen to these
men. / do not want any man in the
department to go where l would not go
myself, and I certainly, after my previ-
Gus experience, would hesitate about go
ing into a building in which | knew this
stuff was stored.
81 had heard that thousands OF POUNDS
were being received in this city over the
J,ehigh Valley Railroad. Afterwards II
came in on the Erie road and was taken
away by Dodd & Child's Express wagons.
Where. I cannot say. For all | know toe
stuff NAV now be distributed in different
places throughout the city, and it we were
called to fight a fire it would be impcssi-
bile to tell if any of it was in the build
ing which was ablaze. If water was
thrown on such a fire the consequences
would be awful to contemplate.
eve have been unable to locate more
that 400 pounds at any place. Portions
~ This are sent away from time to time
and the company's representatives decline
70 fell where it goes. They live WITHIN
their permit, and will give us no Informal
tion. From this I am led to believe that
the city is full of 1t.
mistake if they grant a permit TO the
company to keep the stuff in the CONCORD
street building or any other ouiidins VIII
In the city limits. They shouio pc OH
nelled to locate on the meadows and send
the gas through pipes into the Guy as
other gas companies do. Whatever actlol
fhe Commissioners take in the matte l
want to go on record as un~alteraoly op-
nosed to any portion of. the dangerous
st1ff being allowed within the city limits;
and if the Board does allow 1t they ana
not / will assume the responsibility Tor
any accidents which may occur.
until February s, when Chief conway
ABATEMENT. based on Captain BisseiPs re-
port. will be submitted to them
Several large property owners IN ne
peighborhood are already protesting 10
the Fire Commissioners against granting
the permit to the aceylene company
novir e0nI ann GRAZING