The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1921-06-17
100000 FIRE At
SALT LAKE CITY
UTAH OIL REFINING COMPANY
SCENE OF FIRE WHICH ILLUIM-
MATES HEAVENS FOR MILES
Lightning Strieks Tank Causing Severe
Property Loss and scatters Death
In Heroic Twenty-Five Hour
Battle With Flames

Salt Lake-Two dead, two are said
to be dying, and forty-six were injured,
four seriously, in the fire at the plant
Of the Utah Oil Refining company in
the northwest section of the city which
started at O'Clock Saturday night and
which was not placed under control
until Sunday afternoon. Damage to
the plant of the company is estimated
by its officials at between $1,000 and
100000.
The dead are Walter Rommey, Jr.,
10 years Of age, son of Walter Rommey
of the Fair1nont apartments, and Mrs.
Mary Ellen Clark Milner; and George
Fl. Larbee, 10 years of age, son of Mr..
and Mrs George ]. Larrabee, 149 West
Seventh South street. Both men met
death when a sheet of flame which
preceded an explosion of the contents
of a tank of gasoline distiIlate enveIop-
ed them, giving neither a chance to
escape.
Rommey and Larrabee met their
death while they were working be-
tween the two largest tanks on the COM
pany property. The southernmost of
the two large tanks was a mass of red
fame and black smoke and every eff
fort was being conferred upon throwing
streams of water on the large tank
to the north, which was, at the time
of the explosion. nearly emptied of its
contents. With at least twenty others
who had been fighting the flames all
night, they found themselves in the
stump which surrounded the tank.
Hauling on a heavy hose which car
ried a force of water sufficient to fell
a man at a distance of more than 100
feet, they crawled down into the stump
and began to play streams of water
upon the threatened tank Both were
working in opposite sections of the
stump. intent upon subdueing the
flames and preventing their spread.
Then came the flash of the explo-
sion. Ronney, according to others who
bad been working by his side, was
engulfed in flames. He had no chance
to escape and fell back into the stump,
already filed by water. When his
body was found Sunday, there was
every Indication that he had met
death by scalding and drowning, as
the water in the stump extremely
hot
'Larrabe, working in the same stump
aorthwesterly from Romney, appar-
emily felt the full force of the sheet
Of flame which preceded the explO-
SION Only his skeleton was recover
ed and Identification by his father
was established only by bits of cloth
ing that had been taken from the
BODY by those who rescued it and by
he fragments of cap his father rec
lgnized. At the morgue the father al
90 was able to make partial identifi-
cation because of he size of the
sharred remains.
Larabee's body was not in the large
stump when found, but just west of
The dixie which makes the stump. That
ne was in water to his waist at the
lime of the explosion is plainly inli
bones below the waiStline, but the
upper part of the corpse was entirely
tree of lesh. 1t was in this same sec
ton that Mayor Neslen late yester-
day afternoon picked up a charred
skin bone that physicians say is that
Of human, and the finding of which
loads 20 the theory that the death toll
will be more than two. The bone is
that of human, according to DIR. ].
T. Galligan, who said last night that
an examination showed that it had
only recently been filled with blood.
The fire burned fiercely for twen-
.y-two hours. During Saturday night
iremen succeeded in confirming the
flames to the wooden-top tank, which
lad been struck by lightning. How
ever. the flames spread to another
1000 00O-gallon container a short dis
lance away, which had been partly
amptied. As the fire reached this
sank it exploded and oil poured forth
20 be licked up by the flames and
scattered with alarming rapidity.
As the fire subsidized Sunday after
noon check was made of members
IF the city fire department, and, it
was said that all had been accounted
for. Officials of the refining COM
pany had partially completed check
Of their employees and it was stated
that none were known to be missing.
The flames which spread from the
large tank after the explosion Sunday
morning engulfed frame cottage, To-
Gated east of the plant and facing
North Third West street. In less than
an hour the small structure had burn
ed down completely and only a few
smouldering rafters and scattered
bricks from the foundation We're left
TO mark the site. The house was own