The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1916-06-04


of Ardmore, Oklahoma, was engaged
in its routine occupation. A year of
prosperity was drawing to a close,
and life, from the Ardmore stand
point, was a combination of peace
and plenty. Nature is kind in the
southwest, particularly so In the au-
Trailing leaves seems to impart a
happy and contented feeling to all
about
The city was in this state of quiet
ly enjoying prosperity when, at about
two o'clock in the afternoon of Sep
tember 81 it was visited with one
of the worst disasters in the history
of that territory. Suddenly an eX-
plosion shook the city; a roar was
heard for miles about-and in a few
seconds the prosperous little city
lay heap of burning debris.
The catastrophe was caused by the
explosion of car containing 10000
gallons of high gravity gasoline,
which reached Ardmore on Saturday,
September %, consigned to a local
refining company. 1t was set out on
spur track in the vicinity of the
station and about three hundred and
thirty feet from an asphaltum plant
About noon, on September 27, while
the car was still on the spur track,
railway employees noticed that inter-
nal expansion or pressure of the
contents had raised the safety valv-
es, and gas and liquid were escaping
freely. The foreman of the switch
ing crew, observing this condition,
declined to move the car to the re-
finery, as he knew he would have
to pass an asphaltum plant where
fire was burning. The railway en-
ployes called up the refinery and in
formed it of the condition or the
car. and one of it's men came down
to the spur track and at 2:15 p. m.
proceeded to unscrew the dome cap.
He removed it, materially assisted
by the interior pressure in the tank,
and was drenched by the column of
liquid which was forced many feet
upward by the pressure. The man
descended from the tank car to the
ground, and approximately minute
after his removal of the dome cap
the explosion occurred, followed by
fire.
AS a result of this explosion thirty.
nine persons lost their lives and one
hundred and fifty others were injured.
AS the spur track on which the car
was placed was situated practically
in the center of the city and in the
heart of the business section, all
buildings within a radius of five hun.
dred feet were more or less damaged
or destroyed, resulting in a property
loss of nearly $1,OOO,0O0.
The accident was caused by the
escape of a large quantity of infam'
!. mable vapors from the oil car which
Mas due partly to the failure of the
shipper to leave enough vacant space
in the car to provide for the expan-
sion of the liquid due to the increase
in the temperature. At distance
of 215 feet from this particular car
an eight-day switch lamp was To-
Gated. At a distance of 800 feet
fire was burning in the asphaltum
plant Due to the pressure in the
tank, inlammable vapors had been
= escaping in large quantities from the
safety valves for some time prior to
the accident. The official temperature
was SO degrees F., and a light wind
was blowing from the southeast,
which came in gusts rather than in
a steady breeze. The air was very
humid and the removal of the dome
cap permitted an outflow of vapor
and fluid to such an extent as to
make possible the ignition of the in
flammable vapOrs from either one OF
the fire sources mentioned.
Removing the dome cap OF the tank
car by the employe of the consignee
while the car was subject to interior
pressure was the direct cause of the
disaster. Such removal is prohibited
by the federal regulations, and the
law requires all shippers and car
riers of dangerous articles to make
the rules effective by the proper in
struction of their employees. The rec
ords of the bureau of explosives
show five serious accidents since
1911. the immediate cause of which
was the removal of this dome cap
without previous release of all press