Arizona republican., 1919-04-19

Fire. which started early yesterday afternoon in the plant of the Union oil company at Fifteenth avenue and the Santa t'e tracks totally destroyed the big oil plant and a hide firm nearby and damaged the stock yards just east of the oil plant. Total losses last night were estimated at about s110,0OO, in -cluding. g house at Fifteenth avenue and Jackson street which was wrecked by one of the many explosions of oil and gasoline that occurred during the fire. .... ..... ...
 In addition to losing its entire Phoe- nix plant, the Union Oil company los, most of it's local records during the fire, as well as thousands of gallons Of oil and gasoline stored in the plant. c. E. Beach, district sales manager for the company, said after tire fire it was impossible to tell how much oil and gas went up in the flames, as stocks were constantly varying. The plants capacity, however, was in the neigh-- borhood of S0,0O0 gallons, and was largely filled. The oil company's loss was placed by Mr. Beach at about S100,000.
 Fire Spreads Rapidly
 l utes before 1 o'clock yesterday, and according to the generally accepted report, was caused by the back firing of a motor truck at one of the filling racks at the Union Oil company plant. This was denied by Manager Beach, however, who said that he could not account for the fire. but was inclined to attribute it to static electricity with which they had had considerable trouble.
 Once under way the flames spread quickly, the whole back of the plant being engulfed within 15 minutes
 Practically every available machine and man in the fire department re- sponded to the alarms, and with hur- riedIy thrown lines of hose the fire men made desperate efforts to check the fire before it reached the front warehouse and office of the plant. and the portion west of Fifteenth avenue It was impossible to make headway however, against the flaming oil and gasoline, and employees of the com pany began carrying out the office furniture and records. These were first placed across theSstreet and most of them lost when the flames leaped across.
 Thousands at Scene
 A crowd ranging high into the thou sands quickly gathered at the fire, at tracted by the immense column o1 smoke and flames that lowered UT over the fire. Fire lines were formed by the police who turned out almost | to a man under Chief Brisbois, aided by sheriff's men and such flremen as could be spared, but much difficulty was experienced in keeping the crowc at a safe distance, the general impulse of the spectators being to surge III close to the flames and then dasf | frenziedly back at the least sign of ar i impending explosion.
 Frequent explosions of oil and gaso- ] line tanks added to the thrills of tho | bystanders and the danger of the mel who were trying to fight the fire. Two 2o.0oo-gallon tanks of gasoline and al l equally large tank of distillate were 1 housed in the front warehouse of thu main plant, while just outside it stood | a 20. .000- gallon tank of kerosene. II | addition, there were. numerous smal | tanks, and cans of smaller capacity. DeIuge of Oil
 As the flames reached the tank! l they were thrown farther by the re l sulting blast, with the result that tn ! fire spread with amazing speed. Aftel i the first half hour or less of fighting ] efforts to control it were nearly aban l doned and the fire fighters withdrew 1 their lines of hose and trucks, aftei ! losing two hoselines in the spread O ! flames. The deluge of flaming oil or ! the ground made hopeless any attempt' | to save anything.
 | Soon after the withdrawal of th | firemen, and while many of them wer' close to the flames. the big kerosen' ! tank in the plant exploded, shootin: streams of burning oil across and Ill and down Fifteenth avenue and ove the warehouse of the plant. The bias which fortunately was not as heav. as a later one, caused the spectator to run wildly for safety.
 With the first big explosion the fir
 made renewed speed and swept owe
 the front buildings of the plant an across the road to the portion of tn
 plant there. The cloud of smoke grey heavier than before and flames leape hundreds of feet into the air, p unctu
 ated by frequent minor explosions tha
 caused the spectators to jump fear fully. ,
 Explosion Jars Whole City
 It was about an hour after the star
 of the fire that the big explosion c
 the day came, jarring the entire cit
 and giving rise of rumors of earth
 quake. The big warehouse of the plan
 Rad by this time been nearly consumed .l with it's three huge tanks exposed. Tw
 of them luckily burnt without blowin
 up. but the third, a gasoline filled tanl 'I exploded with blast that shook win
 dow lights downtown and could b
 heard for miles around
 As it exploded, the big tank parte
 in the middle, one-half flying of straight north above the same stree The southern half descended in a fiel
 alongside the road and jumped owe
 into it, rolling over until it struck tn
 side and rear of a big motor cal crumpling it up and setting it on fire The fire was extinguished before tn car had been damaged more than $30( Residence Demolished
 The portion of tank that went norti
 was even more destructive. landing ol
 the ground after a flight of about tw
 blocks and smashing it's way throug
 a four-room house at Fifteenth an
 Jackson. The house, which was oc cupied by Edgar, Siervogel, a returne
 soldier, was empty. The tank prac tically demolished it in going throug
 and then came to a stop in Jackso
 avenue outside.
 r The portions of tank were accom-
 panied in their flight by smaller bit
 of debris and flaming clods of cart
 which descended in nearly a deluge fo
 radius of nearly two blocks abor the fire. As the explosion jared tn