The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1920-05-18
rtREMEN CALLED TO EAST WHEEL
ING TO FIGHT DISASTROUS AND
DANoEROUS CoMTLAGRAT1oN.
Storage Houses, with Contents, Mass OF
Smoking Ruins, EntaHtng quarter
OF q Million Loss.

Fire destroyed the plants of the Free
dom Oil Works Company and the stand
, ard Oil Company, at Manchester (tast
WheeIing). late Monday AFTERNOON;
threatened the destruction OF the WI
son Company stock yards and portion
Of the Manchester plant of the Whrei-
| ing Mold & Foundry Company. and rum
. ed several yards Of track for the "hee;-
! ing & Lake Eric railroad.
Tho financial loss in tho conf lIaerSc
ton probably will exceed S2Nouho ot
| this sum. the Freedom OIL Works total
! loss is placed al $20.U00, in stock Inc
Standard on Company LOST SloooVu
J worth of oils. besides q few thousand
dollars in steel containers. buildings and
gasoline II will reuuir" hundreds OF
dollars to repair the Wheeling Il Lake
''' Spectacular Sight.
The fire was one Of the most Spectac-
ular that ever occurred in Wheeling
! and one of the most obstinate wheeling
: flrrmcn have had to fight in years
Great credit is due chief hurley Ihoinp,
sons men for III" efficient W"rh anG
courage they displayed in the race OF
! danger Of exploding oil and gasoline
tanks. and in heat that was almost un-
bcarablc. ,
, The cause Of tho confagration had
not been determined last night. The
! fir" started in tank house or the
! Freedom Oil works and spread 10
! huge gasoline tank located under me me
! barrel house. Th" vent tap ~ nlS
, gasoline tank let 20. hurling fiamc lou
| feet into the air and throwing burning
| gasoline and oil all over both oil plants
: and In less than minute both plants
| were in flames. -.
& II RIefcr, local manager nf tho
! Freedom OH works. who first saw the
| fire. barely had time II t"lcphon" 10 IN"
/ Atlantic enEin" hous" when his Once
was wrapped in a sheet of hamr ana ne
! had ia flar for his lIfr. Miss Katherine
! Holman. in tho office Of tho Standard
! Oil plant. managed to save tho money
! from the safe in that oficc. and He'd
! with her assistant.
Firemen Respond.
! Rox - at the Wilson plant was pulled
! and two SuCCCSSIN" alarms were sent
/ in a. quickly as Fir" Chief Thompson
! arrived. All but on" ci'y drpartmeno
| and Woodsdalc departments. Fourteen
! streams of water and every arniIaplc
hrt If chemical was poured into the
/ c"una grafton in an Cn"rt TO cheek lin,
| flames
! From tho outset the Srdvest danger
| seemed to Uc that one OF two big tank
/ cars standing on IN" W. & l.. Il. SidInS
AT the gasoline" plants would cNplndrr.
| Tho company from the rwCnty-fnurth
! street station d"vnt"d rs "ntir" att'n-
| tinn Ia the tanks. playing water on
| them for lw, hours 10 prevent dlS-
| astr0uS explosion. =,
Fircmcn fourht III" Flames from all
going into Warren street on tn" front
age and others attacked the Flames from
the rear.
The fight with tn" cuuflagration was
attended with danger as every few MN
/ utcs an explosion took plac" which drove
particles "f barrels high in the air and
/ fresh gust Of flam" followed
Chief Of Police Frch Fraz',r, Mayor
! Thomas f. Thuner and u number nf po-
! ljccmrn were on the Wheeling & Lake
! Eri- railroad tracks and kept curious
! crowd that had somehow Uttered
/ through IN" police lines. back out Of the
danger 20n".
Feared the Tanks.
Each mirut, II was thought that "'%
Of the immense gasoline tanks built on
! a heavy brick foundation in III" rear al
| the Freedom on CompaUY's place wnnid
! b" shattered by An explosion, or tna'
one "f ia" two tank ears IN the tracks,
situated in furnar" If flame. would
tc rent to pieces
I The fIrcmcn literally dr"nChcd III"
| oil tanks hut were nnahl" 10 put OUT
the fir" under them which was fed with
/ OIL running out from the ruins Of the
The h!,lsidcs were black w'tn human
itN. most If whom had taken seats on
,iIa turf and watched the firCmen At
their strenuous lahnrs.
When tu. lmmCus" WhlthErr-iieSS-
nrr and other plants IN the vicinity dlS-
charged their employees for tn" day INC
,rowds wcr" augmented by thousands OF
mrr and women
The fir, lcaprd with rapIdity. after IFS
start near the tracks in TN" rear "f the
, r'rrcdrm Oil Works plant and IN All in
~tant IN" office. War"h"uS" haS"nGnt
and garage were in flames. Thcr" were
rwr Fr-"do'n 81 trucks in III" garage
and one owned by m" standard OH
Company and mon hastily ran them out
Garage Escaped Fire.