The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-02-05
IOH HOUSE BURNED
rnerrH5S sE, <, eg o;ssEs gHE sTAEpARD 2 ,s,, IN
Loss Placed at 1o.oO0--FIames sup- posed to Have started From Spark From . Pass
 ing Engine.
Advertiser Bureau.
 Gof~ vrAh

Advertiser Bureau. Selma, Feb. 4. ficiently to oil and grease every piece of machinery and every vehicle m Alabama went up in smoke this after noon In fire that destroyed the ware house of the Standard oil Company at the corner of Range Line avenue and the railroad tracks in North selma
 The fire was discovered about 3:so o'clock and burned for hours. A coll umn of black smoke ascended that was visible for fifteen miles in every direc- tion. The cause of the fire IS sup posed to have been from a passing switch engine of the Southern Railway. A few moments after the switch en- zine passed the warehouse, George Day, a fireman of an switch engine In the yards of the Western Rsilway of Ala bama saw small blaze at the rear end of the warehouse. He ran to his engine and blew the fire signal which was quickly taken up by the engineer at the plant of the International Cot ton Seed oil Company and a fire alarm was turned in. Before the fire depart ment could reach the scene the ware house was a mass of flames and be- yond saving.
 About twenty feet to the rear of the burning building there are four large tanks Two of the tanks have ca- pacity of 10000 gallons each. and in which Is stored gasoline. The other two tanks have a capacity of 2O,OOO gallons each in which is kerosene. AZ the time of the fire all four of these tanks were about half full and the fire department played water on them and cooled them, as there was great fear that they would explode. These tanks and contents were about the only things saved from the flames. and many gallons of kerosene from one of these tanks fed the fire for some time This leak was discovered and plugged up and the fire was finally extinguished.
 Tn the warehouse In which tpere is also located the office of ths company was stored at the time about 225 bar reIs of oil. Ten of these barrels con- tained kerosene. while the others contained different grades of refined and lubricating oils. There was also fin the warehouse about a carload and a half of axle grease, car grease, cam dies. petroleum and other products manufactured by the Standard oil Com pany. About seventy-five oil stoves also were destroyed.
 In the warehouse there were boiler and machinery used for glnetng bar rels and pumping oils from the tanks. The fire was so hot this machinery was badly damaged.
 All or the papers ana couhS III SAS office are supposed to be destroyed as the safe has been blown open by burg lars and was not fire proof. No money was kept in 1t, and the money taken in during the day was carried Up town by the agent at night.
 For the past month the office of the company here has been in charge of J. F. Tyndai. but yesterday the books were checked up and turned over to E.- W. Mckinney.
 The warehouse of the Standard oil Company was a frame building about 100 feet by 70 feet. Conservative ,s- inmates tonight place the loss in the neighborhood of s10.000, which is GOV cred bv the insurance fund of the Standard Oil Company. It Is generally believed that the Standard Oil Com pany will immediately begin tne c:cc- ton of a new warehouse tc be much larger than the one destroyed this af- ternoon. The livestock and several wagons of the company which were kept In a stable near :ne warehouse were saved. There seenIs to be no doubt but that the fire originated from a spark of the passing engine. as there had been no lire In the boiler since Friday morning and no fire in the office stove since yesterday after noon.