Allegany County Democrat

June 29, 1892

 

The Oil Tank Fire

 

A Flash of Lightning and the Damage it Caused at the Wellsville Pumping Station.

 

Last Thursday morning during a heavy shower lightning struck a tank in the field at the Wellsville Pumping Station, nearly destroying the tank,  burning a large portion of the oil which the tank contained, damaged surrounding property and caused an estimated loss of $20,000.

 

As this is the first oil tank fire at the pump station, we give a sketch of the fire, together with the incidents connected with it, and of the work in holding in check and extinguishing the fire.

 

The lightning struck the roof of the tank at 7:15 AM, tearing out a section about four feet square and ripping the roof open, thus allowing the gas to escape and preventing an explosion.  The lightning fired the oil and in an instant a solid flame shot upward followed by a dense black smoke, which rolled and curled over the tank, occasionally swooping down to the ground, and then forming an immense cloud which drifted off towards the northeast. Shooting out of the top of the tank were billows and forks of fire which rolled upward at times to a distance of 100 feet.  This scene was presented from the time the tank was fired until it was shot, and then when the burning oil surrounded the tank and covered the ground inside the embankment which had been erected to keep the burning  oil from reaching the adjoining tanks and firing them.  The sight was thrilling and awe inspiring, for the whole resembled a solid sea of fire which surged and splashed, and hissed and thundered, as it whirled round the enclosure.

 

The tank was situated in the extreme upper end of the field, between the wagon and rail roads, with tanks adjoining on the west and south.  A burning tank will boil over in about twelve hours, and the height of the oil in the tank could be seen by the dark line which slowly crept down the side of the tank and encircled it.

 

As soon as the fire was discovered a large force of men and several teams under the direction of experienced oil fire fighters, built a six foot high embankment around the tank, enclosing about an acre of ground for the oil to run on and burn itself out.

 

While the embankment was being thrown up, other men and teams were hard at work hauling and planting the cannon by the roadside, placing a portable engine in position and connecting it with three lines of two inch steam pipes which were to be used for injecting steam into the three nearest tanks to prevent the gas in them from exploding if the tanks became too hot.  It only became necessary to inject steam into one tank.

 

Shortly before 2 PM all the work was finished and the first shot was fired into the tank, striking it near the top of the upper third row of plates, and letting out a heavy stream of oil, which was soon ignited by the flames from the top of the tank swooping down and exploding the gas which came from the escaping oil.

 

Thirty solid iron balls, ten pounders, where shot into the tank.  One of the balls entered the upper part of the tank, glanced up and shot over into the woods on the opposite side of the railroad, causing the spectators to get out of the way pretty lively.

 

There was a lively stampede of spectators on the wagon road when the oil outside the tank caught fire and surged toward them.

 

At six o’clock the oil in the tank burned over and presented the best view of the fire, which was then at its height.  The heat was intense and grass, trees, telegraph poles and fences were scorched and burned for several hundred yards.  The oil overflowed the railroad and went over the embankment in some places, but burned out before doing any damage.

 

Trains were stopped for several hours during the afternoon and evening while the fire was at its height, owing to the great heat and driving of smoke and flames across the track by the shifting wind.

 

The burned tank contained 35,000 barrels of crude oil, worth about 54 cents a barrel of 42 gallons.  Shortly after the fire started one of the pumps at the station was started and 2,500 barrels of oil were drawn off.  Then a force pump was put at work and water was driven from the station through the oil pipes into the bottom of the tank and then working its way up through the oil was turned to steam and became dense enough to cause the fire in the tank to suddenly go out at 8 pm, while the oil on the ground surrounding the tank continued to burn until late Friday morning.

 

Fire started up in the tank again shortly after it was first extinguished, owing to the heated condition of the pipes, but it did not burn long before it was again put out by the steam clouds.

 

The oil which was saved by being pumped into another tank, it is said, doesn’t benefit the holders of oil stock but is clear gain to the oil company, and the loss on the burned oil is charged up against “general average.”

 

The tank was 32 feet high and 90 feet wide, and contained 80 tons of iron.  The interior contained a large amount of heavy timber which was used to brace up the sides and roof.

 

The two lower rows of plates where of double thickness.  These plates and the bottom are not damaged and can be used in a new tank.  The fire burned the tank down to the third row of plates from the bottom. The holes made by 18 of the cannon balls can be seen in the part of the tank which is still standing.

 

There are about 80 tanks in the field now; at one time there were 106.

 

A number of views of the fire during the various stages were secured by the local photographers.