1919 – Nov 17, Explosion (truck backfired in oil storage plant/Standard Oil), Hays, KS– 10

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 4-15-2025 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–10  NFPA. “Some Oil Fires Which Caused Loss of Life.” Vol. 16, No. 4, April 1923, p. 375.

–10  Safety Engineering, Vol. XL, July-December 1920, p. 43.

Narrative Information

National Fire Protection Assoc. “Some Oil Fires Which Caused Loss of Life,” 16/4, Apr ‘23:

“Hays, Kansas, November 17, 1919. The fire started between seven and eight in the morning when an employee of the oil company attempted to crank a truck which had been stored in the supply house of the oil storage plant. The engine backfired and the room was enveloped in flames. The flames spread to large storage tanks, the contents of two burning without causing explosions but the third exploded with great force. Parts of this tank were blown 462 feet. A crowd had collected to watch the spectacular blaze and when the tank exploded ten were killed and twenty-six severely injured. A grain elevator on adjoining property was burned. The total property loss was $100,000.”

Safety Engineering: “November 17, 1919.  Hays, Kan. Farmers’ Elevator. East South Main street Grain, coal and implements.  Two buildings destroyed – elevator, 60 feet high, and storehouse, 1 story.  Walls, 2 x 6 timbers spiked together with plain siding. Floors, wood, Roofs, shingles.  Cause oil explosion. Discovered at 8:30 a.m.  Duration 3 days.  Stopped at elevator. Private fire apparatus, line of hose. Killed, 10.  Injured, 40… The fire chief reports to Safety Engineering:

The elevator could not be saved, owing to the ‘rain’ of burning oil.  The Standard Oil Company had $10,000 worth of oil in tanks, and the tank that exploded went 450 feet north after it hit the elevator.  It killed 10 persons.

(Safety Engineering, Vol. XL, July-December 1920, pp. 43-44.)

Sources

National Fire Protection Association. “Some Oil Fires Which Caused Loss of Life.” Vol. 16, No. 4, April 1923, pp. 375-376. Accessed 4-15-2025 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Quarterly_of_the_National_Fire_Protectio/-MAdAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Some+Oil+Fires+Which+Caused+Loss+of+Life.&pg=PA375&printsec=frontcover

Safety Engineering, Vol. 40, No’s. 1-6, July-Dec 1920.  New York: The Safety Press, Inc., 1920. Digitized by Google.  At: http://books.google.com/books?id=aNsMAAAAYAAJ&printsec=titlepage