FIRE: Ninety years ago today, the Bradford Gasoline Company plant in South Bradford had a fiery disaster.
Hugh Laughlin, an employee, just finished filling a 10,000 gallon capacity tank car and walked behind a second car when the first one exploded.
“H.E. Double, manager of the company, estimated the loss at approximately $60,000, the majority of which would be in machinery,” read the Era’s story, which noted 80,000 gallons of liquified high pressure gas was destroyed, and four buildings were lost in the blaze as well.
“Firemen were helpless before the series of explosions which followed the heating of the huge drums of gasoline. Flames leapt hundreds of feet into the air and the heavy steel drums were hurled up through the smoke, catapulting over railroad tracks and rough ground as they came crashing to earth.
“The black smoke and the bright flames reflected against the twilight sky and could be seen for miles around. Thousands of persons visited the scene of the fire and, unmindful of the danger of the exploding drums of gasoline, pressed as near to the blaze as the heat would allow.”
The inferno was so intense, trains were stopped for nearly an hour. An extra engine was added and the train hurried past, cutting loose two tank cars.
A third car containing about 10,000 pounds of naptha exploded, causing a wooden boxcar to catch fire as well.
Inside the boxcar, 100 drums, each filled with 55 gallons of gasoline, exploded in the heat.
“One of the freaks of the fire was the miniature volcano or cyclone caused by the heat. Cold air currents striking the heat at the edge of the fire caused the dust to be swirled in a twister nearly two feet in diameter to a height of nearly 150 feet. Telephone connections were burned to the ground and one of the poles crumbled into the ruins of the buildings.”
Authorities were quick to point out that the situation could have been much worse — 45,000 gallons of high pressure gasoline withstood the heat, and 26 tanks containing about 250,000 gallons had not been destroyed.
Scary.
