The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-12-21

plosion is that no one was hurt or in
jured in any way The city engineer
had constructed an electrical appar-
atus near the opening of the cistern
early in the afternoon through the or
derS of Mayor Green and it was
planned to install an electric fan with
in and force out the gas after which
a torch would be taken down into the
basin and the origin of the gas leak
located.
the work when an electrician Informed
the city engineer that the sparks from
the fan would ignite the gas. Think
ing that this would endanger the lives
of the men working City Engineer
Fulton attached q piece of waste to a
stick. saturated 1t with oil and stand
ing about 20 feet from the opening he
threw it in.
1t was a second before anything
happened and then with a puff and a
fifty feet into the air. The rebound
followed the flames back into the hole
and then slowly the massive cobb1e
stone pavement rose into the air and
with q terrific explosion the stones
and bricks broke into fragments and
| settled back into the cistern and in
| broken cakes on the street.
| Mayor Green arrived on the scene
soon after the explosion and at first
was noticeably angry at such an ac-
| ton. He said:
81 told the city engineer to force
the gas out of the hole with an cleo
| trio fan ar d then find the leak with a
torch, but 1 cautioned him against US
| ing any sort of a light near the place.
1t will probably cost $1,000 to make
the repairs on the cistern and fix the
| pavement
| City Engineer Fulton declared that
the explosion was a good thing. He
\ said:
| IF we had taken a fan down into
that hole we would undoubtedly have
! been killed. The spark from the fan
would have ignited the gas and no one
knows the rest. I think that the walls
in time they would have been danger
Gus for street traffic. / have no doubt
| but what they would have caved in
under the fire department after the
frost had melted from the ground and
was soft again. The way 1t is now
the frost holds the ground solid and
| strong"
At the meeting of the city council
| last night the question of either fill
ing the hole or repairing the cistern
| was argued. 1t was finally decided to
allow the matter to rest until more
| Investigations could be made To-
peka needs every fire cistern she can
| get and this one on Seventh street is
one of the largest and most available
in town. The National hotel, Secur-
ity building. Aetna building and Elks'
club house are all within 100 feet of
! the cistern.
| Shortly after the cistern explosion
another gas combustion happened at
! the corner of Seventh and Jackson
streets where the telephone people
had placed a lighted lantern over the
| dangerous manhoIe that blew up a few
hours before. This lantern ignited the
] gas and the manhole and box cover
| ing were blown across the street. No
| one was hurt.
1t was thought at first that the
force of the explosion had broken a
gas main just north of the cistern, but
| later it was found that the pressure
/ was as high as ever and nothing could
| have happened from this source.
There is no question but what there is
a large amount of gas leaking near
| this cistern location and every effort
| will be made to find the leak and re-
| pair it.