Louisville, Kentucky
Standard Oil Refinery Explosion
June 30, 1890
FIVE ACRES OF FIRE.
AN OIL EXPLOSION IN WHICH THREE PERSONS WERE
FATALLY BURNED.
LOUISVILLE, Ky., June 30. – Five acres of
fire was the sight witnessed at the Standard Oil
Refinery at Fifth and C Streets this morning.
The immense structure was blazing at every
point, and the heat was so intense that even 200
yards away persons were overcome. The following
is a list of the casualties:
Andrew McDonald,
aged twelve, badly burned about the
breast and face, but will recover.
JOHN MCDONALD, aged fourteen,
literally roasted alive; he died to-night,
DAN O’NEIL, aged twelve, burned
almost to a crisp and died tonight.
John Kline, aged twenty-two,
frightfully burned all over the body and cannot
recover
Severen Skere, aged forty five,
badly, though not fatally burned about the head
and breast.
Arthur Yonkers, aged eighteen,
slightly burned.
It was first reported that seven had lost their
lives and later that three were killed and
thirty-five wounded, but it is now believed that
the above will cover the casualties. The fire
broke out at 8:45 o’clock and was in many
respects a remarkable one. The refinery is on
the east side of the Louisville and Nashville
track, but the tanks are scattered along it on
both sides. On last Saturday a tank of crude oil
came in on a flatcar from Cleveland, and it was
to be turned into the refinery vats. Some of the
workmen thought the iron tank was too hot for
such a thing to be done with safety. After
consultation it was postponed in the hope that
the weather to-day would be cooler. It did not
prove to be however, and it became necessary to
run the oil out of the car tank into another one
in the yard. Inspector
Severen Skene took
John Pettigo
and another workman whose name could not be
learned, with him, and they climbed on the car.
They mounted the manhead and were about to
unscrew the cap, whey they felt that there was a
tremendous pressure from the inside. At first
they decided not to open it, but finally they
changed their minds and did so.
In an instant there was a dull puff and the
vapors escaped, filling the air all around. The
gas, as is known, is heavier than the air, and
it sank to the ground, spreading out all over
the locality, and moving with the wind. Almost
in a twinkling it reached one of the sheds under
which was a fire. There was a flash as the
inflammable vapor ignited, and immediately after
there was a tremendous explosion. The tank was
blown to pieces, and the hundreds of gallons of
burning oil were scattered all over the great
works. A wall of fire 300 feet high and nearly
900 feet long moved with lightning rapidity to
the buildings. In less time than it takes to
relate it the canning house, filled with
thousands of gallons of canned oil, the cooper
shop, carpenter shop, pump and engine houses,
the filling and lubricating houses, the storage
houses, the paint and glue houses, and 900 feet
of the platform were all burning furiously.
At the first intimation of the explosion all
of the workmen who could do so started to run.
Johnnie Cline,
however, stumbles and fell, and his clothes
caught fire. The men bravely returned to his
assistance, but the fire that enveloped him
could not be extinguished until he had been
frightfully burned.
Three little boys,
Danny O’Neil and
Andrew and John McDonald,
were walking along the railroad track
when the explosion occurred. They were slightly
to the east of the tank, and the wind blew the
blaze directly down upon them. Shrieking with
pain, they impulsively jumped backward and into
the clear space on the western side of the
track. Their clothes were on fire, and they ran
down the track with the bright blazes streaming
after them. As soon as the bystanders recovered
from their horrified shock occasioned by their
awful condition they pursued the three boys.
Covering them with coats they soon extinguished
the flames and laid them under a tree nearby.
When an attempt was made to remove
O’Neil’s
clothes, a great piece of his flesh peeled off
his face and body at the slightest touch. He was
conscious but never uttered a cry.
The buildings and stock so far as burned will
be a total loss. There is no insurance,
according to the statement of
Edward L. Goodwin,
Vice President of the Standard Oil Company. Mr.
Goodwin said: “It is almost impossible yet to
estimate the loss. We will first have to find
our bearings. I should judge now, from present
appearances, that the loss on stock and all
would be between $30,000 and $40,000.”
The New York Times, New York, NY 1 Jul
1890
Transcribed by
Jenni Lanham. Thank you,
Jenni!
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