The Washington herald., 1908-01-28


Great fires, consuming property
valued at many hundreds OF thou
sands of dollars, accompanied by
injuries to men engaged in fighting
flames, and attended with spectac-
ular features, are reported from
many places in the United States.
At Canton, Nd, four great oil
tanks at the Standard Oil Com
pany's plant, in blaze, throw torch
of flame several hundred feet high
into the air. visible for many miles.
The fire was raging at an early
hour to-day. and water was useless
in extinguishing it. One man was
injured. Residents are leaving
their homes in fear Of a spread of
the eonAagration. The less IS
100000.
A half-million-doIlar fire in Chi
cago Yesterday DESTROYED an office
building and a hotel and probably
cost the life of one fireman. with
score more injured. Inmates of
the hotel rushed to the streets half
clad.
Near Ocean View, Va, a sum
mer resort near the city of Norfolk
a number of buildings were con-
sumed and the resort threatened.
Horses and cattle and farm pro
duce worth S., 500 were incinerated
with the destruction of a barn in
Isle Of Wight County, Va, on Sat
urday night.
At Norwich, Conn, the Norwich
Belt Factory sustained a losA Of
$4,000 Yesterday.
Special to The Washington Herald.
Baltimore, Md. Jan. 27.-Somethng like
10a.oo0 barrels of oil ablaze. presenting a
spectacle of terrible splendor, as sthe
flames fiared up in pyramid 100 feet
thick and several hundred feet high
against the night, the smoke pouring out
in great bilIows. is the picture at Canton,
where fire has been raging in the Stand
ard Oil works ali day and night.
-Four big steel tanks are afiame. These
four are part Of d group of eight among
forty tanks in the plant Of the oil trust on
the eastern water front The four tanks
adre are about % feet high and about 50
feet in diameter
The tops have blown or been burned off
all of them. They are now giant caldrons
of liquid fire. Water is useless, although
twenty-five streams play upon nearby
tanks TO keep them cool.
Give No Heed TO Their Danger.
The fierce heat made the work Of the
dre-hghters disagreeable. and there was
always the possibility that an explosion
would have flung blazing oil over the gal
liant men.
The opening Of the manholes in the
tanks, however. reduced this danger, and
The fremeu worked as if the thought had
never occurred TO them.
A conflict of authority between some Of
the men employed at the works and the
fire laddies came near resulting in the
withdrawal of the city's department at
noon. The differences. however, were
patched up and the Standards men and
the fremen worked shoulder TO shoulder.
One Man Badly Hurt
While fighting the fire Michael R. Ken
nedy. d yard superintendent employed by
the company, was struck on the head by
a piece Of six-inch iron pipe and was car,
ried 10 the Johns Hopkins Hospital In a
serious condition,
Tt was S o'clock this morning when a
tiny blaze was seen Pickering on the
outside of one Of the tanks. caused pos
sibly, by a spark from passing locomo-
tive Soon there was a terrific roar as
the top Of the tank blew off. Red ana
gold flames shot 300 feet into a stiff north
west gale and dense clouds of blue-biack
smoke.
The tank which first caught fire is one
of eight alongside the tracks of the Penn
sylvana Railroad. on these tracks and
sidiugs were perhaps thirty oil-tank cars.
"a few of them filled with benzine. Next
10 the burning tank was one which. it
was stated. was filed with gasoline.
an available streams We're, therefore,
turned on the adjoining tanks, in an ef-
fort 10 keep them cool enough TO with
stand the fierce heat of the blazing oil
Gasoline Tank in Danger.
Much attention was devoted to the gaso-
line tank The sheet iron of this tank be-
came so hot that the water poured on it
went up in clouds Of steam. At late
hour it had not caught
Wholly regardless of the danger. the
iiremen stuck to their posts near this
tank, despite intense heat, and kept water
playing upon it. a locomotive dashed in
amons the fire and smoke and rescued
the train Of oil cars
In an hour. despite twenty-five lines of
hose playing upon the tanks aud the
desperate efforts of the city and county
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