Flood of Burning Oil Endangers California City
加利福尼亚州大蒙特雷的大型坦克沸腾，火灾造成一部分滨水区的破坏 - 本周燃烧
BUT for a turn of the tide at the critical moment it is probable that the entire waterfront and perhaps the whole of the city of Monterey, Cal., would have been wiped out by the flames, when a large oil tank was struck by lightning. The tank, with a capacity of 55,000 gallons of oil, was in the plant of the Associated Oil Company. While fire-fighters and soldiers from the Eleventh Cavalry, U. S. Army, were battling with the blazing tank, it boiled over, and the river of blazing oil bore down upon them. All fled and managed to escape but two of the soldiers. These men had been stationed between the tank and some residences, and they were unable to avoid the stream of fiery liquid, which quickly enveloped them. They were cremated in plain view of their helpless comrades and over a thousand spectators. It is thought that fumes from the burning oil which rushed ahead of the stream when the tank overflowed overcame the men and rendered their escape impossible.
The Funst & Gross cannery buildings quickly caught fire. as several of the other tanks of the Standard Oil Company’s plant exploded and added to the stream of burning oil which flowed out into the bay after running down the hill from the oil plant. For a time it seemed certain that the whole waterfront must go, as the oil floated around the pierheads. Then, at this moment, the tide turned and the blazing masses were drawn away from the danger point, allowing the fire-fighters, who had been driven to cover by the intense heat, to again fight a winning battle against the fire.
The only fatalities were the two soldiers who were burned, but there were many of the firemen and soldiers, who nursed burns and minor injuries. Besides the losses of the Funst & Gross canneries and the Oil Company, an empty cannery building of the California Cannery Company and six residences were destroyed. The losses were estimated at over a million dollars.
