Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1921-09-15

EXPECT MORE DEATHS
Broken Pipe Near Furnace Thought
Responsible for Accident-Identifi-
cation Difficult.

Philadelphia, September IA (Spe.
cial) Ten men were killed today and
more than a score of others burned,
eleven so frightfully that some will
probably die, in the briefest, yet one
of the worst, disasters in the history
of the Atlantic Refining Company,
when naptha still exploded. The
body of one of the victims was
brought down from the top of the
towering structure five hours after
the explosion, only after firemen had
constructed a special scatfold to
reach it. All that was left of it was
in a kneeling posture, and it was
evident that the man had met his
death in prayer, his hands over his
face in the vain effort to protect his
eyes.
A broken pipe or hose connection,
somewhere on the outside of the still
not far from the furnace, is held re-
sponsible by the officials of the COM
pany for the accident. The instant
the fluid reached the furnace the
flames travelled to the tank and the
explosion and fire followed.
Only three of the nine dead have
been identified, so badly were their
bodies charred. The Atlantic Refining
Company tonight issued list Of six
names Of men who have not been
accounted for, and it is thought they
are the other six dead.
Motor patrols filled with policemen
were sent 10 the place from nearly
every downtown station. These, with
ambulances, were kept l,usy trans
porting tie inirred, most IF whom
were taken to st. Agnes Hospital,
the nearest to the plant. There ex-
traordinary steps were taken TO save
some of the lives of those burned, but
not killed outright. A hurry call was
sent out for large quantities of am
brine, the paraffin substance discov-
cred during the world war which
eliminates most Of the agony Of sur
face burns by sealing the exposed
nerve end. Cinders ard clothing were
brushed tenderly from the bodies,
quivering with agony, and these were
drenched with the pain-killing fluid.
a motor patrol, laden with burned
men, was speeding toward the hos
pital when tire blew out The men
were so terribly burned that they
could not stand the jar of cunning on
a fiat tire. Accordingly, they were
transferred to motor cars and other
patrols thai followed with others If
the injured.
Most of those near enough to
catch the full force of the flames
were beyond the aid of medical science
when workmen, themselves blackenad
and blistered by the heat, fought
their way to the motio;lless, charred
bodies. These were picked up with
difficulty and taken to the morgue,
where the work started of trying to
m axe Identification by what was left
Of rings or jewelry.
The bulk of the naptha in the tanks
burned out within an hour, but the
residue continued to blaze until much
later, despite the combined efforts of
city and plant fremen.
During most Of that time the fire.
fighters devoted their energies to the
task of preventing the spread of the
flames to the fifteen remaining stills,
each of which contained many thou
sand barrels of the highly refined
fluid. Steady streams of water were
kept pouring on these stills and on
the pipe lines through which, when
it was deemed safe, the naptha was
drawn off slowly by emergency drain
ing systems.
Even when the final flare of the
flames died down it was impossible for
fremen to approach the still in which
the explosion occurred. All metal
parts were still so hot that when
water struck tl:em they gave off
clouds of Kissing steam.