The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-01-15
Fire Marshal Lahey's
 Observation Noted By Commissioner Blackall
Survey of Conditions in State Made With View of Pro- tecting Communities, Eliminating Risks, Re-
 ducing Fire Insurance Rates

city of 10000, ,O00 gallons of gasoline, 17,O00,000 gallons of fuel oil and 128,000 gallons of naphtha stored. The next largest has a tank capa- city of 570,000 gallons of gasoline, an. 100000 gallons of fuel oil. Another can store 50,0O0 gallons of gasoline and 5O,0OO gallons of fuel oil. Tanks in the South Meadow have tankage of 90,O00 gallons of gasoline and 75,000 gallons of fuel oil.
 Fuel oil can be stored above ground in Hartford but only in the heavy industrial zones, where one firm, the largest, has S.400,000 gall Ions, while second company has 6O,000 gallons of fuel oil so stored.
 Chief Charles A. Volk of the Nor walk department indicates eight companies have either gasoline or fuel storage in that town or both. All of the tanks are on the water, but only one company has a dike around its yard, and bursting of any of the other tanks would allow the oil to flow into the river there.
 While the total amount of storage in Willimantic is not large, six dif- ferent companies have either gaso- line or fuel or range oil stored there, the tanks of only one company being diked.
 New Haven Plan
 Mayor Muruphy reported in some detail on the New Haven situation. One large compjany there has tre- mendous storage with enclosed earthern dikes, but no foam protec- tion. Another large refining com- pany in New Haven with large facil- ities has all its tanks included in one field surrounded by cement dike and every tank protected with foam system, except one with a floating roof; the third company has both cement dikes and protected foam system. Another distributor has all its tanks surrounded with cement an dearthern dikes. One large New Haven firm has all its tanks in one field with cement dike and furnished with steam protectoin; although some have neither dikeS nor foam protection.
 In Mayor Murphy's reply to Com missioner Blackall, he makes the following interesting observation:
 Based upon my conversation with the fire marshal, would say it does not appear to him, or to me, that there is any problem in connection with the storage that is pecliar to New Haven. However, would point out that in every instance the stor- age in the places referred to is be- low ground and that they are To- cated outside the high value dis trict, and that we have taken pre- caution to see that their tanks are provided with automatic pressure release vents, anti-freeze valves and flame arresters.
 However there is another point about the matter of storage here that we have under consideration, and that is, whether or not there should be some limit to the amount of storage that should be permitted within the city. We think there is, but we have not decided that we have reached the point of limitation to which we should go."
 The commissioner has taken the liberty of directing the attention of the engineering department of the National Board of Fire Underwriters to the interesting questions submit ted by the New Haven mayor as to whether there should be safety limit on the amount of storage per- mitted.