DESTRUCTION OF A TOWN BY FIRE.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, Issue II, 7 May 1880, Page 2

DESTRUCTION OF A TOWN BY FIRE.

Bed Eock, one of the most enterpns« ing towns in the Bradford oil district. Pennsylvania, was destroyed by fire re* eently. It was the most destructive con» fltigration that has ever occurred in the district. Eighty buildings were burned, the district covering over twelve acres, the total loss is estimated at 100,000 10l — insurance light. A well on the hill side hid been cleaned out preparatory to torpedoing, the latter tubing being left out of the well. One of the hands pass* ing by with a lantern, the gas caua.lv, consuming the rig and destroying a 250 barrel t*nb of oil. The fluid ran down the hill and communicated with a tank owned by Mr Emerson, and containing 25,000 barrels of oil. The monster iron tank burned for hours, the blage being plainly visible at Bradford's, a distance of sis miles. The tank was located in a position that commanded the heart of the town. Embankments wpre thrown up, and every precaution taken to preserve the place from destruction, but without avail. The Bradford fire companies werp sent for, but at a late hour it was believed the tank would not burst, and the men were sent home. BUBSIISG OF THE GBEAT TANK Between 3 and 4 o'clock thU morning the upper bands of. the great tank fell in wjth a crash and the tank burst. The turning oil ran out ; a huge fiery wave jumped high over the embankments and spreading to the extent of 800 feet, swept through the heart of the town, which literally melted away before the heat. The burning oil coursed through the streets fully four feet in depth. A wave of fire would bound against a house, jump over the roof, and in less time than it would take to write a deseript on of the disaster the entire town was in flames. It was truly a grand sight. Had it not been for the alarm sounded about midnight the lnss of life would have been great. As it was people barely had time to es cape with their lives. The burning oil swept through the town like a tidal wave, and little or nothing was saved. Not a store or a saloon was left standing, and over a hundred families rendered homeless. Tfte citizens of the adjoining towns came nobly to the rescue, throwing their houses open to the sufferers. Bradford contributed 1000 dollars and provisions. Red Rock is situated about five miles east of Bradford, M'Kean county, and contained about one thousand inhabitants. It was built entirely of wood. Much of tb.3 business of the town was connected with the oil trade.