| |
KF5JRV > TODAY 18.03.19 13:24l 41 Lines 2190 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 32940_KF5JRV
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Mar 18
Path: IW8PGT<IR2UBX<IZ3LSV<IW0QNL<JH4XSY<N3HYM<KF5JRV
Sent: 190318/1122Z 32940@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.18
Nearly 300 students in Texas are killed by an explosion of natural gas
at their school on this day in 1937.
The Consolidated School of New London, Texas, sat in the middle of a
large oil and natural gas field. The area was dominated by 10,000 oil
derricks, 11 of which stood right on school grounds. The school was
newly built in the 1930s for close to $1 million and, from its
inception, bought natural gas from Union Gas to supply its energy needs.
The school’s natural gas bill averaged about $300 a month. Eventually,
officials at Consolidated School were persuaded to save money by tapping
into the wet-gas lines operated by Parade Oil Company that ran near the
school. Wet gas is a type of waste gas that is less stable and has more
impurities than typical natural gas. At the time, it was not completely
uncommon for consumers living near oil fields to use this gas.
At 3:05 p.m. on March 18, a Thursday afternoon, the 694 students and 40
teachers in attendance at the Consolidated School were looking forward
to the final bell, which was to ring in 10 minutes. Instead, a huge and
powerful explosion, which literally blew the roof off of the building,
leveled the school. The blast was felt by people 40 miles away and
killed most victims instantly. People rushed to the scene to pull out
survivors; hundreds of injured students were hauled from the rubble.
Miraculously, some students walked away unharmed; 10 of these were found
under a large bookcase that shielded them from the falling building.
First-aid stations were established in the nearby towns of Tyler,
Overton, Kilgore and Henderson to tend to the wounded. Reportedly, a
blackboard at the destroyed school was found that read, Oil and natural
gas are East Texas’ greatest natural gifts. Without them, this school
would not be here and none of us would be learning our lessons.
The exact cause of the spark that ignited the gas was never found,
although it is now known that the gas could have been ignited by static
electricity. As a result of this incident, wet gas was required to be
burned at the site rather than piped away.
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
email: KF5JRV@ICLOUD.COM
Read previous mail | Read next mail
| |
