Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-27
PROBABLY BLOWN TO PIECES
Panic Caused in a Nearby Catholic
School.
POLICEMAN WAS HERO IN VAIN
Carries Dying Man Out of Blazing
Building and Is Himself
Badly Burned.


| Special Dispatch to The Star.
| NEW YORK September 27.-Two men,
| possibly three. We're killed by the explosion
| of an oil tank on Protectory avenue. near
| the West Farms road. in West Chester
| early this morning. The third man is miss
| ing. and the police believe that he was
! either blown to pieces or that his body viii
be found somewhere about the tank.
The oil tank which exploded was situated
| between two gas tanks and was an emer-
gency tank of the Bronx Gas and Electric
Company. 1t was not used except as a re-
pository for oil sprinkled on the Morris
Park track for the purpose of laying
the dust prior to the automobile races.
Automobile races will take place at the
track Saturday and three men had gone
to the tank to carry away load of oil
in a spIinkling car. What caused the ex-
plosion may never be known but there is
one theory. that one of the men carried
lighted cigar while he was at work. and
another that a lighted lantern carelessly
handled came In contact with the oil.
The dimensions of the tank were 80 by
% feet. Twenty thousand gallons of crude
Oil were stored there. The roar of the ex-
plosion was heard for miles around, build
ingS far distant were shaken SO that the
windows ratified in their castings. and 1850
children in the Catholic prOtectory a few
rods away were thrown into a panic and
boited for the open. Orders were given to
the boys who were members of the band to
get their instruments and play. When this
was done, the children soon became calm.
One of the dead is James Cooper, twenty
six years old who was a worker on the
race track. The men who went with him
to help pump the Oil were Richard Smith,
the son of a policeman. and James Reilly.
Hours after the finding of Coopers body
that of a second man who had been
hurled many yards from the tank was dis
covered. but the features We're unrecog
nizable, and whether it Smith or
Reilly the police could not tell. This
strengthened their belief that all three
pershed.
The summit of the tank was reached by
means OF ladder. The men had pump
Suddenly, while they were pumping the
oil, there came terrific roar and a burst
of flame. which was reflected in the win
dOwS of the Catholic Protectory and made
the interior as light as day. The huge
metal top of the tank shot skyward to land
in a field 800 feet distant. Volumes of
blazing oil spurted into the air with it
like geysers of fire which fell back in show
ers all about the tank.
Occupants of frame dwellings, in the
neighborhood ran forth into the streets in
scanty clothing to find the burning tank
lighting up all the surrounding country
Mounted Policeman Jordan of the West
chester station. who was on his beat near
by. urged his horse 10 its best speed and
arrived at the scene of the fire at d hard
gaIlop.
He entered the storage building where
the tank was and came upon Cooper, his
clothing ablaZe. lying near the door. The
policeman took his blanket from the saddle
pommel and. dragging Cooper away, wrap
ped 1t about him. He staggered out with
his burden in the face OF a bast of heat.
a messenger, dispatched for a priest, re-
turned with Father Gilmartin of St. Ray
moHds Church. and in the glow of the fire
the priest. kneeling, administered the last
sacrament OF the church.