The Kenna record. (Kenna, Roosevelt County, N.M.) 190?-1924, 1921-02-04
TEN ARE KILLED
IN EXPLOSION
DEAD ARE NEGROES, TWO
WHITE MEN AMONG THE
SCORES INJURED
FIRE THREATENS AFTER BLAST
Twenty Small Houses Were Splinter
ed; a Portion Of the oil Plant
was Wrecked and Threw
People Every Way.

Memphis, Tenn-Ten negroes dead,
approximately score injured, some
probably fatally, and property dsEGage
estimated at 100000 makes up the
known toll of an explosion of easing
head" gasoline awaiting unloading
from a tank car to the plant of the
Coylar Reese company in North Mem
phis which let go with blast that
wrecked a part of the oil plant, leveled
a block of frame dwellings and shook
the entire north end of the city.
OF the injured two are white per
sons, L. G. Scott, superintendent Of the
Reese plant, and L. c. Wilder, truck
superintendent. Both were badly burn
ed but physicians say they will re-
cover.
Spontaneous Combustion Blamed.
Coylr Reese, president the oil com
pany, attributed the explosion to
spontaneous combustion due to the
contact of vapor escaping from the
tank car when the metallic cap was
removed preparatory to unloading the
car, came in contact with the atnnos
phere.
The tank car which contained 5000
gallons of casinghead gasoline pro
duced by the absorption process, was
shipped here from Kelleyville, Okla
homa, Mr.. Reese stated, and was load
ed in low temperature.
When the cap was remover, accord
ing to this theory, the vapor came in
contact with such higher atmospheric
conditions here and the explosion fol
lowed. 1t was stated that representa-
tives of the United State bureau of ex-
pIosions and experts from the refinery
from which the car was shipped will
arrive to definitely determine the
cause of the blast.
Tenement Houses splntered.
When the explosion occurred row
of frame tenement houses along. an
entire block were splintered and the
occupants blown to the streets or
caught under the falling timbers
Most of those killed outright were
badly mangled while several of the
injured were so badly burned they
died soon after reaching a hospital.
When police and firemen reached the
scene the streets and alleys in the
vicinity were Uttered with splintered
timbers and torn and twisted house
hold goods with the dead and injured
caught in the tangled maze Of wreck
age
Andrew Mckinley, the negro who
was removing the dome from the tank
car when the explosion occurred, was
hurled several hundred feet through
the air. He was badly burned and is
dead. Mckinley was quoted as say
ing that, when he removed the car
gas rose to height of twenty feet
and formed a pail of black smoke
which ignited and exploded.
Almost simultaneously pools of oil
on the ground caught fire and a sec
ond explosion occurred. One report
was that Mckinley used a chisel in
attempts to remove the cap from the
car. This, however. has not been veri
fed. Mr.. Reese stated that his in
vestigation disproyed any theory Other
than that the explosion was caused
by spontaneous combustion.
Besides the damage In the immedi
ate vicinity window glasses within q
radius of several blocks which were
shattered by the concussion which
was felt a distance OF half mile from
the scene. Two sheds at the plant o
the Colyar Reese plant were lifted
bodily from their foundations and fel
in a heap.
Fire which followed in the wake o
the explosion completed the work o
destruction. The flames were checked
however. before they spread beyon'
the splihtered wreckage Of the Ill
fated dwellings