Fighting Oil Well Fires
Annie Dyer Nunn describes the work of another pioneer in fighting oil well fires – Ward A. (Tex) Thornton. Tex started with a torpedo company in Ohio but soon settled in Texas where he did most of his work.
Shooting Fire (original article)
Ward A. (Tex) Thornton (Texas State Historical Association)
Mountain Of Barrels
This must have been a monster bonfire. The “mountain” was 100 ft high with 3500 barrels in 30 tiers.
Burn “Mountain Of Barrels” At Boston Celebration (original article)
Forest Rangers Speeder
A short description of a railcar (speeder) used by forest rangers to fight small fires started by falling sparks from a passing train.
Forest Rangers Adopt Gasoline Speeder (original article)
North American Railcar Operators Association (NARCOA)
Electric Fire Truck
This article describes an electric fire truck with an individual motor drive in each wheel.
Electric Fire Truck Has Four-Wheel Drive (original article)
Oil Well Fire
Fred A. Herr describes a terrible fire at Signal Hill, California oil field. The fire was successfully extinguished by Ford Alexander and his crew from Taft, California by using explosives. This method was apparently developed and perfected by Alexander long before, now famous, Red Adair appeared on the national scene.
Using A Dynamite Explosion To Blow Out An Oil-Well Fire (original article)
Dynamite Extinguishes Gas Well Fire ( a more detailed account from Chemical Age )
