Pittsburgh gasometer explosion
{{Short description|1927 incident in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA}}
File:Gas Explosion (715.275490.CP).jpg
The Pittsburgh gasometer explosion, or Equitable Gas explosion, was an accident that took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on the morning of November 14, 1927.{{cite journal
| last = Brotzman
| first = W. S.
| title = Damaging Gas Explosion At Pittsburgh, PA.
| journal = Monthly Weather Review
| volume = 55
| issue = 11
| pages = 500
| publisher = Weather Bureau
| date = 25 January 1928
| url = http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/055/mwr-055-11-0500a.pdf
| accessdate = 2008-01-17
| doi = 10.1175/1520-0493(1927)55<500a:DGEAPP>2.0.CO;2| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20080229085552/http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/mwr/055/mwr-055-11-0500a.pdf| archivedate= 29 February 2008 | url-status= live| doi-access = free
}}
History
A huge cylindrical gasometer, the largest in the world at that time at {{convert|5|e6cuft|m3}}, developed a leak, and repairmen were sent to fix it. The exact cause of the explosion is not known, but some of those repairing the leak were using acetylene torches.{{cite web
| last = Sebak
| first = Rick
| title = One morning, the North Side exploded
| work = Pittsburgh Magazine
| publisher = WQED Pittsburgh
| date = November 2006
| url = http://www.wqed.org/mag/columns/sebak/2006/1106_explosion.shtml
| accessdate = 2008-01-17 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080110055014/http://www.wqed.org/mag/columns/sebak/2006/1106_explosion.shtml |archivedate = 2008-01-10}}
There was a loud explosion, and three gasometers at the site exploded. A "dense mass of dust and smoke" rose from the ruins before igniting into a ball of fire reported as 100 feet in diameter, which rose further before burning out at a height of 1000 feet. Most buildings within a radius of half a mile were damaged, with windows being broken a mile away, causing upwards of $4 million worth of damage.
It was reported that the explosion "caused lofty downtown skyscrapers to tremble and sway as if hit by an earthquake". 28 people were killed and hundreds were injured.
References
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External links
- [https://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/thedigs/2012/11/14/gas-explosions-in-1927-on-pittsburghs-north-side/ Gas explosions in 1927 on Pittsburgh’s North Side]
- [https://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/thedigs/2012/11/14/behind-this-picture-lies-a-tragic-story/ Behind this picture lies a tragic story]
- [http://northsidehistory.org/survived-gas-explosion-1927/ Golden Memories – Gas Explosion of 1927]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5DjyebE9EM Firsthand account of explosion]
- [https://cdsun.library.cornell.edu/?a=d&d=CDS19271115.2.12 PITTSBURGH STORAGE GAS TANK EXPLODES; MANY DIE, 500 HURT; SQUARE MILE OF CITY IN RUINS]
- [https://popularpittsburgh.com/threepittsburghtragedies/ Three Tragedies That Changed Pittsburgh]
- [http://dmsbr549.blogspot.com/2014/08/1927-gas-tank-explosion-pittsburgh-pa.html 1927 gas tank explosion-Pittsburgh, PA]
- [https://www.nytimes.com/1927/11/16/archives/the-pittsburgh-gas-explosion.html THE PITTSBURGH GAS EXPLOSION.]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YWVP8w-a8w Pittsburgh History: 1927 gas tank explosion]
{{Pittsburgh}}
{{coord|40.4472|N|80.0210|W|region:US-PA|display=title}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pittsburgh Gasometer Explosion}}
Category:Gas explosions in the United States