Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1902-05-14
AT PlTTSBURG
Thought That Fifty Deaths VIII Fol.
low Explosions Of Naphtha.
THREE HUNDRED BURNED.
Disaster Caused ny Collision of OIL
Cars Which Caught Fire, the
Heat Resulting In Naphtha
Tanks Explosion.

, Pitrsburg, May 14.-It is believed that
the death list resulting from explosions
Of naphtha at Sheridanville will include
at least fifty names. Twenty-Five per-
sons were killed outright, and at least
300 We're burned. Many OF these Will
die.
The first explosion occurred in the
Sheridanville yards Of the Panhandle
division of the Pennsylvania railroad.
Switchmen We're shifting train OF
cars to which were attached two cars
Of refined oil and one Of naphtha. AS
the cars rolled along the track the oil
cars came together with a crash, smash
ing the couplings and breaking switch
light. The oil tank was Jared, and the
oil flowed down on the light. 1t ignit-
ed and made trail to the tank.
A fame shot into the air, and before
the trainmen knew what had happened
an explosion occurred. In a fash the
burning oil spurted into the air. An
alarm was sent to Sheridanville and.
McKees Rocks, and the local fire de-
partment responded. No water could
be had, and the heat was so intense no
one could get near enough to couple
an engine to the other two cars and
haul them away. In half an hour the
second car of refined oil exploded. BY
this time more than thousand persons
had gathered on the hillsides. The
tracks lie in a valley, fianked by steep
hills on each side. No one thought Of
any danger.
A Scene of Terror.
Full two hours after the fire had
started there came a third explosion.
There were three other naphtha tanks
in the immediate neighborhood Of the
two tanks that had been telescoped
and were burning. These had been
growing hotter and hotter, and efforts
to get them out of range had for some
reason been Intellectual. With mighty
splash of fame across the heavens and
cannonade that made the hills quake
the tanks let go almost at the same mo
ment
From the heavens there descended
tons of burning naphtha, flaming tim
Der, redhot iron, and the people on thu
hilltops were beaten down, one afte
another, by the force Of the 'fall1n.
mass. Maddened by pain, crazed
knowing nothing, feeling everything
they dashed hither and thither, tearing
their clothes from their backs as the,
ran, Some ran direct toward the rail
road, down the turnpike; others madl
tried to climb the hills; others grovele
on the ground and died as they ran
! climbed or groveled.
BY the freaks of chance there wer
some few left unscathed by the demo
holocaust. These hurried to give al
to the less fortunate, tore the burnin
] clothes from their backs, beat out tn
flames, carried the desperately injure
to more SECURE spots and sent for th
medical aid of which they were IN sue
] need.
I Worse Explosion Feared.
The officials of the Panhandle roa
now fear a worse explosion. A DANCE
: line has been established 500 yards
all sides of the burning wreckage, an
: the railroad police are keeping the c.
rious crowd back. A few feet belo
the burning wreckage the big thirt
six inch main Of the Philadelphia con
pany, which comes from the gasfielt
e in the southwestern portion of tt
j. state and which supplies the Mckee
Rocks and lower Allegheny distric
II With natural gas lies,
IL It is feared that the conclusion WI
so great that some Of the joints or eve
&c the pipe itself may have been dar
e aged, and If such is the case the ga
a which is under great pressure, W
=. - force its way through. and anoth
" terrific explosion will follow.
J. About twenty cars are piled up q
- tween Sheridan Station and Corks RI
:, in the Sheridan yards. This is still
mass of fame. 1t covers an area
- 40 by $50 feet. In this there are ;
-, kinds of merchandise. The vounte
~ fire department of Sheridan and NO.
~ engine company, from the west en-
~ are playing streams on the burnll
~ debris, but little Roadway is bel
made owing to the fact that the emit
~ wreckage is saturated with napht
~ and kerosene, and every now ana tn
ns fresh volume Of flame shoots 0
from various portions Of the smold'
nm ing ruins.