GASOMETER EXPLODES.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 16722, 24 April 1920, Page 11

GASOMETER EXPLODES.

SENSATION. AN AMAZING SPECTACLE. AVitli a terrifying roar and amid the crash of breaking steel plates and tie rods, some 2,00l»,00l) cubic lent m gas dared skywards on the morning ol April ■!, from the big gasometer at the South .Melbourne works of iin- .Metropolitan Gas Company, t'nr a lew seconds amazed residents in the neigbuouring districts beheld a vast ami lurid cloud of dame above their heads, at a height apparently of some hundreds ol ieel, Hashing" vividly againsi the blue sky. Then vie.’ great flame vanished ,as the gasometer collapsed, leaving sightseers, who laid felt a wave of scorching heat, in iuixjmis uncertainty as to what had happened. Tho explosion had wrecked ihe. roof of tho great gasometer. But beyond this amazingly little damage was done, and house-; and works in the neighbourhood escaped practically unharmed. There : was no loss,of life, and only half-a-dozen injuries, consisting of hums, were reported to the police. In all tho circumstances, if is extraordinary that so little damage should have been done. The gas works are situated not far from the South MclboTinto beach, in the eon ire of a typical, congested industrial area. The explosion occurred at 10.31) n.m., at a time whoa the gasometer was/about two-thirds full, and in the retort houses, away across Pickles Street., some b 0 employees wore at thoir usual work on the .Sunday morning shift, but there were fortunately no workmen in the neighbourhood of the gas holder itself whenuio accident happened, otherwise there might havo boon a heavy death roll. The streets adjoining the gas works were also practically empty. There were .several eye-wit-nesses of the occurrence, however, who related A REMAP [CABLE STORY. A low rumbling noise was heard suddenly, which ’increased to a sound resembling thunder—so loud that it could be. distinctly heard at least half a mile distant from the scene of the accident. Almost simultaneously a sheet of flame was burst through the roof of the gasometer and float rapidly into the heavens in the form of a gigantic cloud of fire. As the flames ascended to a height of- several hundred foot they presented an extraordinary spectacle. The outpouring of the excessive _ volume of burning gas was accompanied by an. explosion which shook tho foundations of houses throughout Port Melbourne, Albert Park and South Melbourne. Panes of glass in the windows of cottages close to the scone were smashed by tho concussion. The flames remained in mid-air like the head of a mushroom far above the gasometer for a few seconds and spread in a glowing cloud with extraordinary rapidity in all directions. The gas container then dropped to the ground level. Alarmed householders rushed excitedly from their homes, but the fire was of brief duration, and the fears of an extensive outbreak were quickly dis- . polled. Nevertheless, some of those in the neighbourhood had terrifying experiences. A SENSATIONAL EXPERIENCE was that of two youths. George Dunn and Frederick Greenwood. They were standing a few yards distant from the gasometer, when tho explosion oc- ■ curred. When interviewed, Greenwood said: “We. wore walking along Graham Street from Bay Street, Port Melbourne. to Pickle's Street. When wo reached Schumacher’s mill furnishing" works at the corner of Graham and Johnstone Streets I saw the gasometer blow up. Ihe next thing I saw was a great mass of flame surrounding me and my companion. Wo tilrned and ran back towards Bay Street. As wo were running we wore fighting for our ■ breath. Wo wore suffocating. Reaching Esplanade East, half way between Snluinuichev’s corner and Bay Street, we were able to breathe freely. Wc stopped. Then I found that the back oi my neck had been burned. Dunn’s neck was also burned owing to the intense heat. A narrow escape from injury was also reported by a motor-cyclist who was endeavouring to start his engine close to the gasometer. Seeing the flumes leaping from the top ol tho gas container, { he ran for his liie,” dragging the motor-cycle with him until ho readied .slitltci behind a brick wall. So intense v. as tho heat from the momentary flash of tlie explosion, indeed, that grass plots, flower beds and creepers on properties near the gasometer wore severely scorched. So bright was the llnme that telephoned inquiries were leecivod Irom persons who had soon the flash at'distances of 15 miles away and o\ or. and wore anxious to know; what it portended. A remarkable feature of the .occur?wKn nS s a^loll £h approximately -.000,000 cubic feet of coal gas was consumed in the outbreak no serious hres occurred though a number of small fires broke out in the vicinity, only to be quickly extinguished. THE DAMAGE TO THE GASOMETER testified to the force of tho explosion, the gaunt supporting frame-work of lion pillars stood ms solidly as ever, though blackened and with blistered paint. Put the steel plates which lornted the huge roof of the container were ripped and rolled back iu crumpled waves of torn metal. It was ns though a giant’s ha:ud had clutched , the rool and crumpled it like a sheet 01 paper. The torn sheets were piled up against the supporting plates, and bulging masses of crumpled metal overhung the wall of the works. Here and there .stout steel lie rods had been snapped like sticks or been bent into curves. Where the plates had been torn away the supporting frame work ot tho root, consisting of immense wooden beams, was revealed. The wood showed little sign of burning, but some or the big baulks of timber were split and broken. Beneath was the water, 30 loot deep, in which the gasometer floats, green and covered "’ lt . £ A' ,ln l; IV, A 1 several broken joists oi timber floating on its surface. The '.A , gigantic container was tilted . slightly, and in places was buckled and blistered with the heat.