The Covington leader. (Covington, Tenn.) 18??-current, 1921-01-27
KILLED AND
INJURED BY EXPLOSION
GASOLINE TANK EXPLODES IN
MEMPHIS


Horrible Accident Occurs Early Mon
day Morning While Tank Was Be,
ing Opened-Many Buildings Com
pletely Demolished and Ten Col
Ored People Lose Their Lives
and Many Others Are Injured
Investigation is Being Made.
Death and ruin followed in wake Of
an explosion at the plant Of Colyar,
Reese & Company, Front street and
Mill avenue in Memphis Monday
morning at 7:45 o'clock. The known
dead totals 10, with at least IA in
iured, some of whom probably will
die. All Of those killed we're me-
groes,
The plant Of the concern, which
handles petroleum products, was COM
pletely wrecked BY the explosion and
the fire following, with a half block
Of one-story tenement houses, about
dozen in all, just across the street,
were leveled to the ground, several of
the inmates being killed outright.
The concussion rocked the earth
for half mile in the vicinity, shat
tering window panes of stores and
residences within a radius of three
blocks, says Tuesday mornings Conn
mercial Appeal Contents Of the big
plant and the houses across the
street were hurled hundreds Of feet
into the air and Uttered the ground.
The frame dwellings, were reduced to
splinters. Every article Of household
goods was destroyed, iron beds and
stoves being twisted into a mass Of
junk.
The explosion, continues the Conn
mercial, was result Of a spark caused
by metallic contact when Andrew Nc
Kinley, negro workman at the Reese
plant, attempted to remove the tap
on the dome Of the gasoline tank
preparatory to unloading the con-
tents into the stationary reservoirs.
Under ordinary conditions the tank
car might have withstood some rough
treatment, but the change in tenn
parature which the gasoline had I'M
dergone since arriving on the switch
from KeIlyville, Okla, Oh Saturday
eaused a quantity Of vapor 10 accum-
ulate in the cap of the huge drum.
Regulations provide that tanks Of
high pressure gasoline should be
opened only after the safety valve
spring has been released SO ais to
allow the escape Of the surplus
vapor.
Mckinley, who had started to work
ct 1880 o'clock, mounted the tank and
started to open the cap. AIT first his
wrench met with some resistance. He
then used chisel to loosen the cap
and dealt several blows on the cap
with hammer and chisel.
The conclusion of the hammer
against the chisel was sufficient to
create sparks, which in turn ignited
the escaping vapors The cap flew
sSyward and great stream Of gaso-
line shot 20 or Is feet into the air,
followed By ball Of black smoke the
size Of an average wash tub. The
smoke mounted to a heigth Of 80
feet, then spread. Flames shot out
from the smoke and fell to the
ground.
Pools Of gasoline which had ac-
cumulated from the geyser from the
tank quickly caught fire, and in an
instant everything inflammableI
within radius Of rs yards was
ablaze. The corrugated roofing on
the two sheds at the Colyar, Reese
plant was lifted bodily and thrown
into the Belt Line tracks on Front
street, and the flames licked their
way toward the hundreds Of steel
drums of cup grease and lubricating
oil stored in the yards.
The early hour caught many me-
groes in their homes facing Saffa-
rams and Looney avenues and Front
street. In the dozen double tene-
ments. winch cover half block in
That vicinity, fully 10 negroes reside.
The death toll was gathered in that
quarter, and all but two Of the In
jured were found in or near the
shanties.
Government inspectors, who were
rushed 70 the scene to make an in
vestigation, seem to be OF the opln-
ion that fumes from casing head
gasoline, one of the most powerful
explosive forces now handled in COM
merce, probably ignited by spark
from a chisei, caused the disastrous
explosion.
"l'his explosion was replica of
the Ardmore blast, in which 81 were
killed, more than 600 injured and
great property loss inflicted. Both
were caused by the same force, the
fumes from casing head gasoline,
which is very light and volatile. 1t
is highly explosive, spreads very rap
idly and easily ignited.
In the explosion Monday the me-
gro who was charged with connect
ing the tank car with the storage
tank was negligent in performing his
work. The negro undoubtedly struck
a spark with his tool and this ignited
the gas accumulation, causing the
dome lid to blow off, releasing a vast
volume of gas, which gushed out
from the car, spread quickly over the
vicinity and, igniting,
caused the explosion
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