The San Francisco call., 1908-09-20
INVESTIGATE MARE
ISLAND DISASTER
Naval Board Is Trying to Fix
Blame for Fatal Gasoline
Explosion
Thrilling Work OF Rescuers in a
Sea of Blazing Oil at
Navy Yard
SPECIAL DISPATCH TO THE CALL

VALLEJO. Sept. 19-An investiga-
ton of the causes of the explosion
which cost three lives at the Mare
Island navy yard yesterday was com
meneed by a naval board this morning
composed of Captain Edward A. Ander-
son, Assistant Naval Constructor c.
F. Colburn and Paymaster J. f. Bel
cher. The board is sitting at the navy
yard and. will endeavor to ascertain the
exact amount of damage to govern
ment property, as well as fixing the
blame for the accident
The bodies of Theodore May, chief
machinist on the submarine Grampus; A.
Martin, the bumboat boy, and the un-
known Italian are still missing, but a
thorough search is being made under
the direction of naval officers.
1t is believed that the explosion was
caused by a cigarette stub thrown into
the water, but this point has not been
definitely settled. The submarines
Grampus and Pike have been placed
in the drydock. and the amount of
damage to them will be determined
soon.
Those who escaped from the fiery
lake after desperate struggle will
survive.
HEROISM OF RESCUERS
The fire gave a rare chance for a
display of that quality of hereism
which Americas naval discipline brings
out in time of sudden stress. Officers
and men accepted the opportunity.
During the Is minutes when the float
ing shop, the two submarines and the
water about them were scorching
inferno they acted with purpose and
at times under command, though the
air they breathed was aflame.
On the submarine Grampus were
Lieutenant Townsend, Gunner's Mates
Norrin and Leahey and Seamen Crow
foot, Crevling and White. The crafts
low, rounded deck was Tapped by
flames, which scorched it's paint and
bit the faces of the men. Townsend,
who had been overseeing repair of the
batteries, gave the order to close the
matches and the others set to work to
do it, though the place was deadly.
The wall of fire rose higher. heated
chemicals filled the air with poisonous
fumes, and they had to flee. But even
then they sought~safety with method
and finally, at command, they leaped
overheard, diving through the blazing
oil
More picturesque even than this was
the deed of two seamen, r.. J. Powers
and E. J. Wilson, on board the subma
rine Pike These two were alone or
| the craft when the fire fiared UP. The
| Pixies tanks were half full of gasoline
and the explosion of this seemed a Ger
tainty. The pair had been trained too
| long to retreat. Safety lay within
| few feet, but they went below to saw,
the boat. In the terrible heat the,
worked madly, lowering matches ant
| securing them. Then they began tt
sink the craft, although they knew tha
| the air supply on hands was suff1cien
to last a few moments only, and sub
mergence meant almost certain deatl
| for them.
Meantime marines and dock laborer
on the seawaIl seized the lines of TIL
! two submarines and began hauling
| them from the fire zone. 1t took but
few minutes and was accomplished be
| fore the Pike had left the surface.
CAUSE OF DISASTER
| Lieutenant E. H. Dodd of the ncya
| tug Fortune, tender for the submarine
fiotilla, was in charge of the inquir.
| and the search for bodies Friday after
noon and yesterday morning. He said
The gasoline, Is gallons perhaps
had been blown out from the tanks o
| the submarine. This is common prac
/ tice. IT lay upon the surface of tn
water. In a few moments it woul
have evaporated. But some one prob
ably threw a match into the water al
though the men had been warne
against matches. What made the fir
| far worse than it would otherwise hav
been was that underlying the gasolin
| was a layer of crude oil which ha
come from tanks near by. This caugh
and 1t burned fiercely."
AS soon as the first burst of fam
was over, while the water was sti
ablaze, Lieutenant Dodd and others be
gan systematic search for Mays bod,
Dodd's attempt to find May while tn
\ fire was at its height was one of tn
most heroic incidents of the afternoon
J This search under his direction came q
its sequel. The flames on the water
surface scorched the hands of the me
| who rowed the boats.