The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1906-03-29
BIG BLAZE FROM
EXPLODING GAS
Public Service Tank In Ho-
boken With 10000 Cubic
Feet of Gas Ii It Makes
A Sp sctacular Fire
LOSS ONLY $4,000

1ANAo AMI 1AhOE QC<A-N1A-
TIES OF NAPHTHA AND OIL
CREATED ALARM AND ALL EN-
GINEs WERE CALLED
A mammoth tank filed with 100000
cubic feet of gas-one of several in the
yard of the gas works of the Public Ser
vice Corporation. bounded by Twelfth,
Thirteenth, Grand and Clinton streets.
Hoboken, was destroyed by FIRE that
broke out at five o'clock yesterday after
noon and burned until midnight. The
damage was only about $4,000, but il
was one of the most spectacular fires
that has occurred in this section of the
country in years. The tank was the
largest one in the yard. 1t was standing
130 feet high when the fire first caught.
1t had diameter of eighty feet. The
flames, fed on gas. shot fly feet into the
air. As the fire progressed red hot bolts
and steel plates dropped from their places
and great masses of flames shot from the
sides of the tank.
As soon as Chief App,egate, of the
Fire Department. reached the scene and
noted the proximity of the FIRE to other
gas tanks and naphtha and oil wells, he
decided to take TO chances. Every fire
company with apparatus was called out.
The Jersey City Fire Department was
asked for aid and reinforced the Hobo
ken Fire Companies with two engine
companies with apparatus. The plant is
almost surrounded by terement houses
and the police reserves under command
cf Chief Hayes went through . sesre OF
more Of them and practically drove every
occupant to the streets. THIS task was
easy, as a great explosion was antic.pat
ed. The terrified tenants grabbed Up
Their most cherished property and ma,.s
for the danger Inss Is .ayishei twc
blocks in each direction of the fire. Al
most every mother carried a babe n het
arms. and many of them had small chill
dren tugging at their skirts. whi.e faith
ers and children carried all sorts of fur.
niture. For an hour or more the scene
in the surrounding streets was one Of
indescribable confusion.
The fremen, knowing that 1t was use
less to attempt to save the burning tank.
bent their efforts to prevent the spread
of the flames aed turned the twenty
streams that they had been playing en-
the fire on the adjacent tanks and sur
rounding properties, in order to keep the
tanks and walls soaked with water.
During the first hour of the fire the
burning tank settled twenty feet. BY
this time fear of an explosion among the
6remen or further spread Of the flames
was over and half of the apparatus was
withdrawn. The fire during the last
three hours was fed on oil that was in
the bottom of the big well. The tank
that was destroyed furnished gas to the
residents of upper Hoboken, Fort Lee.
Weehawken, Gutenberg, ColtsviHe and
Palisade Park, but with the aid of the
Company's gas works in Jersey City an
adequate supply of gas was Furnished
consumers in those municipalities.
The DANCES of a big oil and naphtha
well taking fire was averted by opening
a valve and allowing the oil to flow out
through pipe into the Hudson River.
Chief Engineer E. A. Donahue, of the
plant, said
The only way can account for the
fire is that the watchers allowed the
tank to get too full. This caused the
holder to be lifted from its bed of water
and let the gas escape around the sides.
A spark from nearby blacksmith shop
must have ignited the gas. After it was
once ignited there was no way on earth
to stop the blaze. All the water in the
world could not have put out the fire.
One thing the fire did was to demonstrate
beyond doubt that gas tank viii not
explode from fire. This alone should do
much to reassure the residents of the so-
called gas house district who live in
continual dread of fire.