Whitall Tatum scene of blaze, green tank building destroyed

WHITALL TATUM PLANT SCENE OF

BLAZE; PRODUCTION RESUMED SOON

The green tank building of the upper works of the Whitall Tatum Company in Millville, N. J., was destroyed in a spectacular fie on Sunday, March 21, with a loss estimated at thousands of dollars, but due to intensive efforts on the part of the combined fire-fighting forces of both the city and the plant, the furnace and equipment of the building were not seriously damaged.

George S. Bacon, superintendent of the Whitall Tatum plants, who led the fire-fighters throughout the battle against the flames, informed THE GLASS WORKER that arrangements had been made to resume operations in two weeks and while the ruins still were smouldering on Monday, workmen were busy tearing away the debris.

The big tank housed four automatic machines of the latest type and it was at first feared that they had been destroyed, but aside from some damage caused by the intense heat, they remained intact and were not seriously disabled.

Sparks of soot from the flues which were being cleaned, ignited some straw in one end of the factory, it is said, and the flames shot up into the woodwork. In a few moments the building was swept.

Employes turned in alarms and quickly had several streams from factory hose playing on the blaze. This was augmented later by a half dozen streams operated by the Millville fire department.

Joseph Chamberlain, a fireman, suffered severe injuries when he was struck on the head by a falling beam and several other firemen were slightly hurt.

Mr. Bacon was notified of the fire at once and hastened to the plant. His part in the fight is described by the Bridgeton Evening News, Bridgeton, N. J., as follows:

"George Bacon was the director in chief in the battle with the flames. He chanced being struck by falling beams and risked the heat when the fire was at its height as he gave orders right at the entrance of the blazing factory. He was ably assisted by his son, Lawrence, who worked with the firemen during the three hours that the fire was at its height."

No time will be lost in replacing the building, it was announced, and in the meantime plans for the resumption of work in two weeks are being carried out. The company will be fully able to take care of the large orders on which they have been working, necessitating their operating three continuous shifts for some time.