The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-06-15

Retort Being Charged.
On yesterday afternoon fire destroy
ed a portion Of the Standard Turpen-
tine compauy's plant, in this city, and
the loss is variously estimated at from
$4,000 to $4,000. The plant is what was
formerly known as the Weed Distill-
ing end Manufacturing company and
is located at the Extreme southern end
OF Front street. People in the central
portion Of the city were of the impress
sion that the fire was much larger
than it really was for the tar and tur-
penllne burning made dense columns
of black smoke and all wei the city
there was odor of burning pine.
1t was about 3 o'clock when the fire
started and in a very few minutes the
distilleries where it had it's origin
were in a light blaze and the smoke
boiling up. There "a a stiff breeze
but there was nothing near to be in
danger and the fire made no sparks.
Fol o than two and a half hours
did it burn, the flames being fed by
a continuous stream of rosin which it
was impossible to stop until practical
ly all of it had run from the retorts
at the dlstillery where the fire started.
!, AS long as the stream of rosin con-
tlnued it did practically no good {
throw water upon the fire. OCCASION
ally the steam would smother the fire
for a few minutes and the vat where
f1n i~0 ryO~I - -1-~@
seething mass of steam, and while this
was the case a stream OF rOsin could
be seen flowing from the large iron
pipe and emtying into the vat. But
only a few minutes at the time did
the fire remain out and then the vat
would suddenly be a mass of flames
and as the rOsin ran from the pipe it
looked like a huge torch. At night the
scene would have been a beautiful one
with the huge torch and rising above
it all a dense column of black smoke.
The flremen stood near and held a
steady stream of water on the pipe
from which the rosin was flowing, but
it did not seem to do the least good
The building burned was n in the
center Of the large lot where the plant
of the Standard Turpentine company
Id lOCdlCu dIu Iii II "SlS lulCc u1Slll-
leries in which trucks of pine wood are
run and the rosin got out by means of
steam. All Of the plant is insured but
the distilleries and is carried in COM
panies represented by Messrs. Clayton
Giles & Son.
The fire was occasioned by a slight
explosion while n of the retorts was
being charged. 1t seems that a fire
uroS EinSIoH JnIor q rntnrt uhiah had
not been used in some time and some
water had got in it and caused a
slight explosion, just enough to cause
a fire. In a flash flames enveloped the
building, for in it was a large quanJi-
ty Of rich pine which had been placed
in the distillery and which was being
steamed. In the vat under it was a
large quantity Of rOsin. The method OF
getting rOsin out Of the pine is j Sc
cret one. From the product a prepara-
ton is made somewhat similar to tur-
pentine and large quantities of it are
made at the plant.
The damage will depend very mUcn
to what extent the retOrts are damag-
ed and some do not think they were
damaged to any great extent. Hun
dreds of gallons Of the product which
had been steamed from the pine was
burned. In a fire of this kind a great
part of the damage m from the
plant having to shut down, which, in
| reality, should be calculated as a part
of the loss, but that is a loss that can
only be figured out by he owners of
the plant. 1t is owned by Messrs. An
gus and Malcolm Mckenzie, of New
York, and they also have a plant at
Fayetteville.
Efforts were made TO stop the stream
of rosin, but this could only be done
in the d~istillery, where the flames
! were raging and consequently the fire
ha dto burn out. The plant is
quite a large n and is very much
scattered and we'll it is for had it been
in a small space it woul have been
impossible to have saved it. Mr.
Leacy. the manager, was in Faye.te-
Vile inspecting the plant there.