The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-07-25
90 INJURED IN Big
BAYONNE OIL FIRE
Tank Car Filled With Case
lene Explodes in Texas
Company's Yards.
EIGHT MORE ALSO GO UP
Five Box Cars of Oil and Ware
house Are Destroyed Before
Firemen Conquer.

A tank car filled with gasolene ex-
ploded at go o'clock yesterday morning
, m the plant Of the Texas Company on
the Kill van Kull at the foot Of First
street. Bayonne, N. J. Before the fire
that resulted had burned itself out the
| flames had caused the explosion of eight
more cars OF naphtha and gasolene and
had destroyed Ave box cars filled with
five gallon cans of gasolene and ware
and lubricating oils.
Fifty-fve persons were injured or
overcome by the smoke and flames, fif-
teen OF them so seriously hurt that they
had to be taken to the Bayonne Hospi-
! lal for treatment The most seriously
! hurt of these we're:
HENDERSON, George. a fireman OF En-
CINE Company No. 5 overcome by smoke
sHERAN. James Capt, MILLER, waiter
WiEGAHD, otto, CUBBERLY. John:
ana EHREMBEcH William ~. n nrome S or
PoLAsKI. Stanley. ss East Seventeenth
| street. Bayonne: burned.
oLKEv1TCH. wladislaw. i2s Avenue A,
DRiscohL. Patrick. rs Silver street, Bay
JONES. George. II Humphrey avenue
BURNS, Fred. SIS Tr.sk avenue. Bayonne
ALONZo. Antonio. 1872 Broadway. Bay
HALPERrN. Morris 81 West sixteenth
HBILDERMEIsTER, Jacob. La Tourette
! Hotel. Bayonne.
Engineer Braves Flames.
The car that exploded first held be-
tween 5000 and 10000 gallons OF gaso-
lene, and was in the filling track in the
company's yards. There were eleven
cars on the siding, and eight more ex-
| ploded in spite OF the efforts of the train
crews to haul them to safety. Frank
Henry, an engineer at the plant. sue
ceeded in going into the fire swept yards
with locomotive and dragged two OF
the cars, both filled with thousands Of
gallons OF naphtha. through the flames.
Neither OF these exploded.
A general alarm of fire was turned in.
which brought every piece of fire appa-
ratus in Bayonne TO the scene, but in
spite of the efforts of the flremen the
flames quickly spread to the warehouse
and then to the box cars. The burning
oil and gasolene caused. huge columns
| of smoke, visible for miles, and several
thousand persons lined the shores Of the
Kill van Kull on both the New Jersey
and Staten Island sides to watch the
fire. Several daring rescues were made
by flremen and workmen OF other
men who were trapped in the burning
warehouses and in the filling room, many
| o. them being dragged out just in time
to save their lives.
| For more than an hour the fire threat
ened to spread to a large building con-
tanning several tons of wax and paraffn.
and to the laboratory. The plant of the
Safety Insulated and Wire Cable Coru-
pany. near that Of the Texas Company,
was also In danger, but effective work
by the Bayonne nremen and by the fire
apparatus that came in response to an
appeal to the Standard Oil Company
prevented the plant from catch ing
Many OF the barges which have been
tied UP at the piers near the Texas Com
panys plant because OF the marine
strike were moved out into midstream.
| although they were in little danger.
Most of these barges were towed away
from the docks by tugs of this Standard
OIL Company.
New Compound Helps Firemcn.
The Standard also sent to the fire
two tank cars containing n new COM
Ipound which has been used with con-
siderable success in fighting oil fires.
This compound was squrted through
various buildings and the tank cars that
seemed to be in danger OF catching, form
ling a film through which the fire could
mot penetrate. The fremen, handicapped
at first by low water pressure, were able
ito do more effective work when connec-
ltion was made with the mains of the
Jersey City Fire Department The latter
department also held several pieces of
apparatus in readiness to send to the
aid of the Bayonne fighters.
The Bayonne Hospital sent a detach-
ment OF physicians and nurses in trucks.
All who were seriously hurt or burned
Iwere sent at orce TO the hospital in
Iambulances. and forty others were
treated for slight burns ana bruises in
the yards. Physicians said at the hos
Ipital last night that all the seriously
injured were getting along very we'll
and II Is thought none will die.
L. r. Holmes, general superintendent
iof the Texas Company terminals es-
mated the loss at $4,000, covered by
insurance.