OIL PORT IN PERIL

Evening Star, Issue 20371, 31 December 1929, Page 3

OIL PORT IN PERIL

TERRIFYING SEQUEL TO TANK EXPLOSION With the gravest anxiety residents in a district ot Hull watched the progress of a great lire which for the best part of two days threatened disaster to the neighbourhood. It began with the cxnlosion of a tank containing hall a million gallons of paraffin, close to which were other containers holding vast quantities of petrol and oil. Scenes of nightmare impressiveness wore witnessed while an army of firemen laboured to check the names, lo extinguish the fire was impossible, and they devoted their energies to trying to prevent it from spreading to the other huge tanks and causing incalculable damage. The greatest heroism was shown by the firemen in sticking to their posts knowing that at any moment an avallinche of burning oil might ongulf them. So serious was the outlook that assistance in fighting the fire was rushed from London by express train, and special appliances were dispatched from Leeds.

The scene of the mammoth blaze— Salt End, on the waterside outside the city boundary—is the oil port of Hull, situated east of King George’s Dock. Here a long pier juts out into the dep water channel of the Humber to provide berths for the oil-carrying steamers to discharge cargoes through great pipes to the tanks. Four companies—the Anglo-American, the British Petroleum, the Shell,' and the Glico —have between them nearly 100 steel tanks established at Salt End, varying in capacity from 2-5,000 gallons to 1,000,000 gallons. Within a stone’s throw of these containers stand the alcohol works of The Distillers. Ltd., with thousands of gallons of pure alcohol m storage. The tank which exploded was in the Anglo-American Oil Company’s storage yard, and was about 00ft high and 80ft in diameter. There was no one within many yards radius at the time, and it is supposed that the explosion was caused by the mingling of combustible vapours. In the words of an eye-witness, “ There was a sudden explosion and the iron sheath which covered the tank blew up like a balloon.” Workmen engaged in the erection of a now container a considerable distance away declared that the explosion shook the ironwork under their feet. A sheet of (lame rolled out, and the tongues of fire shot up 50ft into the air. The tanker Lnccllum was then at the jetty discharging benzine into another container. She was at once towed to a safe distance in midstream.

The blazing tank was one of a row of six. ami grave clangor was threatened to those on either side of it, particularly to a huge store of pas oil, towards which the wind drove the ilanics. It was feared that this tank also would explode, and one precaution the dromon took was to smother its sides in a continual torrent of water to keep it cool. Similar measures were adopted to safeguard the other four tanks. Later attempts wore made to pump petrol and gas oil from the adjoining tanks to several empty tanks in the now field of the British Petroleum Company, but they had to be abandoned owing to the rapid spread ol the llames. Meanwhile tho utmost alarm prevailed in the surrounding neighbourhood. Clouds of thick blade smoke and the great tongues of flame which roared into the air terrified the* residents. Although every available fire-fighting appliance was on the scene, the (ire brigade authorities soon realised that the blazing oil was more than they could tackle without special equipment. It was then decided to send for a special chemical fire engine belonging to the; Leeds Fire Brigade. Two such engines arrived, having covered more than sixty miles in loss than an hour and a-half. A message was also sent lor another chemical lire engine ('Tom Loudon. Superintendent Parker, of the fire brigade, also telephoned to London lor a large supply of foamite, a substance used to put out petrol and oil fires, and it was rushed to the scene hy oxpress. Officials of the Anglo-Ameri-can Oil Company flew to Hull from London and Manchester in specially chartered aeroplanes to supervise salvage work.

Early in the battle against the Haines one fireman was badly burned on the band, and lie was treated by Dr J. Cummings, senior police surgeon. The pipes used to convey oil to the tanks from ships in the .Humber were of great assistance to the firemen. There were no hydrants within a quarter of a mile of the blaze, and two tugs were used to [lump river water ashore through the pipes for the purpose of cooling the other tanks. The burning paraffin, the level of which lowered at the rate of about two inches an hour, made the three-quarters of an inch steel sides of the tank fed hot, and there was grave danger that they might give way. Trenches were dug and high barricades of earth were raised round the container in order to check the How of burning oil in the event of a collapse occurring. To the intense relief of all concerned the flames died down almost as suddenly ns they started, after the fire had lasted nearly thirty hours. In place of them appeared a long, thick column of grey, black smoke. Investigation showed that when the paraffin burnt down well below the level of where the curved roof had been, there was insufficient air to maintain combustion in the tank, except at the edges. Extra hoses were brought into ploy, and many gallons of chemicals were poured on the remains until the fire was quelled.

All that remained to be done was to see that it did not break out again and to continue the work of cooling the adjoining two tanks, which it was feared might explode following the tremendous heat to which they had been subjected. Officials who investigated the scone afterwards made the sensational suggestion that the fire was caused deliberately. Startling developments, it is stated, are likely to follow further examination by the authorities. “ The explosion could not have occurred without the aid of some human being,” declared an official of the Anglo-American Oil Company. “ The tank could not have exploded without a spark, or some flaming material being thrown into it. I believe that some electrical contrivance was fixed that would produce a spark inside the tank. The explosion and fire would, of course, destroy any apparatus that may have been employed.” Preview fire disasters during this year have caused great damage in Hull. Some weeks ago the new fish landing stage was burned from end to end a few days after it had been opened. The damage amounted to £250.000. Earlier in the year a big shopping centre and large oil works at Newlnmls were burnt out.