River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1915-09-30
MANY BUILDINGS AT ARDMORE
OKLA, RAZED AND BURNING
Oil THROWN IN EVERY
DIRECTION.
RAILROAD STATION is
SHATTERED BY SHOCK
Scores Of Houses Quickly Take Fire
from Flying Liquid and Main
Street Becomes Roaring Fur
nace-Woman Burned
Saving Children.

Ardmore, Okla, Sept Is = Between
90 and 80 persons were killed and it
is estimated 200 others were injured
here during the afternoon when 250-
barrel tank car Of gasoline standing
near the Santa Fe freight Office in the
business district, exploded. The terri
fc force of the explosion RACED many
buildings and threw burning gasoline
in every direction. A few minutes lat
er ArdmOre was at the mercy of scores
Of fires. At s o'clock the fires were
under control.
The city is under martial law.
Private homes were Immediately
thrown open to the injured and scores
OF men we're working in the smolder
ing ruins along Main street in search
for additional victims
Newspaper Plants Damaged.
Not building on Main street es-
capped damage, either from the force of
the explosion or from the resultant
fires. The publishing plants of the
Daily Ardmoreite and the Statesman
were badly damaged
All school buildings, business houses
and residences within II blocks of the
business district bear evidence Of the
explosion. Practically every window in
the city was shattered.
Two worBmen were repairing the
tank at 2:30 o'clock in the afternoon.
One Of them struck the tank with
hammer and it is believed a spark
from the blow ignited escaping fumes.
There was a terrific explosion, follow
ed by many smaller ones. The work
men were killed. The shock shatter
ed the ArdmOre railroad station, used
by the Santa Fe and Rock Island rail
roads, and the Rock Island freight sta
ticn, and scores Of other buildings
quickly took fire from the flying liquid.
Street Is Roaring Furnace.
The flames spread rapidly until all
OF Main street was a roaring furnace.
Thirty freight cars in the Santa Fe
railroad yards we're destroyed. The
roof of the Wilmington hotel was
blown off by the force of the first ex-
plosion but all guests were believed
to have escaped. The entire block in
which the Pennington wholesale groc-
cry was located was RACED by fire.
At the store of Maddin and company
scores OF girls were working and it
was feared some of them lost their
lives.
The pail of smoke which hangs over
the whole city has seriously hampered
rescue work, but deeds of heroism
were many. woman waiting at the
railroad station with a baby in her
arms and a four-year-old child at her
side, dashed three blocks with her
double burden, her own clothes blazing
as she ran Passers-by smothered the
flames with their bare hands. The
mother was taken to the hospital, dan
gerously burned The children were
not seriously injured.
Cut Off From World.
For FIVE hours after the explosion
Ardmore was cut off completely from
the outside world Telephone and tele
graph communication was severed by
the wrecking of poles in the down
town district
At late hour 50 bodies had been
recovered. OF these II were negroes.
Many of those who lost their lives
we're buried under debris when the
force Of the explosion shattered build
ings and threw down outside walls.
Charles Smith was standing on Main
street when the explosion occurred.
He was killed Bricks from a build
ing hit him