Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-10-18
TWO MEN INJURED.
Gas Tank at the Packing House Elk
plodes With Fearful Result. !.

PiS0SS WIN TCdt|ul, hCSuIts
From Tuesdays Daily.
A frightful accident occurred at the
packing house of John Morrell & Co.
last evening, few minutes after
O'Clock, in which Aaron Anderson and
Byron Parnell, machinists were Sc
verely injured in a gasoline explosion
The men were engaged in repairing
what is known as carburettor, tank
from which gas is generated for
branding purposes. The men were
blown several feet by the explosion
and Mr.. Anderson suffered fracture
of the bone of his right leg just below
the knee and fracture of bone in
the instep of his left foot, besides num-
erous bruises. Mr.. Parnell's lett arm
was broken below the elbow and both
his left forearm and the right arm
were more or less bruised
A fire followed the explosion and
had it not been for the splendid emer-
gency equipment OF the company for
such cases, the property loss might
have been large. AS it was, the en-
ployes in the engine room and in
other departments adjacent to where
the explosion occurred were enabled
to almost instantly turn three streams
of water onto the fire with the effect
that it was almost instantaneously ex-
tinguished The injured men were re-
moved to the engine room and Dr. J.
B. Wilson summoned. DR.. S. A. Spill
man and DR.. w. B. LaForce were also
called and with the assistance of the
fellow employees of the injured men
dressed their wounds as best they
could there, when the men were re-
moved to their homes. Mr.. Anderson
especially suffered intensely Mr.. An
derson resides at the corner of Main
and May streets and Mr.. Parnen
boards at 406 Mable street.
No carelessness or blame is at
tached to any one. The large tank,
when in operation, is located just back
of the scale house and is filled or par
TALLY filled with gasoline from which
the gas is generated by a peculiar pro-
cess in which large quantity of cotton
or felt material is used The top of
the tank became defective and the oil
was drawn from the same, several
/ days ago, for the purpose of having
! the tank repaired. 1t was accordingly
1 removed to point directly east of the
machine shops, at the opposite side of
i. the plant from where it is located
when in operation. AS the tank had
| been empty for several days, the men,
/ when they began work on it last even
! ing had no thought, whatever, that
| there was within it the minutest guam
tity of either gasoline or gas. They
! had prepared the new coeering, even
| to placing the cotton, etc. Mr.. Ander-
] son climbed on top of the tank and
Mr. Parnell was standing at the side
| leaning against the tank, and the men,
! by means of blow-lamp, were melt,
/ ing the solder which held the cap in
place. AS soon as the blaze from the
4 lamp made an opening to the interior
of the tank, the gas which had formed
therein from the oil retained In the
old cotton within the tank, produced
an explosion. The tank was con
structed with more than one cell or
partition, and there were two distinct
explosions, showing that the tank was
thoroly filed with the highly ex-
plosive gas.
An examination of the tank after the
explosion revealed the terrible force
of the same 1t was blown to pieces
and the wonder is that the men We're
not more severely injured than they
were. Both men will be laid up for
some time, and especially Mr. Ander-
son, who was more severely injured
than his partner.