Entire Leesburg Fire Department Almost Wiped-Out by Explosion - October 27, 1903

The following account is an excerpt from our book "The Lost History of the Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company and the Fire Service in Loudoun County, Virginia 1803-1925". 

The first of two large storage tanks for the Standard Oil Company’s new storage facility had arrived in Leesburg in early March, 1897. Standard Oil had been using the railroad to transport barrels of fuel oil and gasoline to its Leesburg facility. In order to save freight, time and labor, the product would soon arrive in tank cars and then be transferred to the storage tanks. This new facility was located along the railroad tracks beside the freight depot within the corporate limits Leesburg, and would serve as a distribution point for dealers throughout Loudoun and Fairfax Counties. This particular tank was to be used for the storage of kerosene and had a capacity of fifteen thousand gallons.

In the five years since the big 1898 mill fire, the Leesburg Firemen had handled several large fires and a few smaller ones around Town. Most of those were burned out chimneys and some were even extinguished by a salesman with a fire extinguisher. On Tuesday, October 27, 1903, the Leesburg Fire Department fought its biggest fire to date, when the Standard Oil Company’s tank farm caught fire.

There were two accounts of how the fire started. What is known is that at about half past four that morning, Mr. Lynch, the superintendent of the fuel depot, arrived for work with his lantern. The first account reported that, while doing some work inside the building, the lantern somehow exploded and the woodwork, being saturated with oil, soon ignited. Mr. Lynch was dazed but soon was able to escape through a window. He next went to a house nearby, got an ax, broke open the stable and took the horses to a place of safety.

The second account reported that Superintendent Lynch proceeded to one of the tanks for the purpose of drawing oil. He carried a lighted lantern, and by some accident the contents of the tank became ignited and an explosion followed.  The other tank also caught fire and both were soon roaring fiercely, lighting up the town. At this point, two very large tanks of flammable liquid at the Standard Oil Company’s distributing plant were now burning out of control. Regardless of what exactly started the fire, the result was a very dangerous conflagration that threatened the citizens and the Town.

Soon after the ignition, at about five o’clock, the people of Leesburg were awakened by the distress whistle of the locomotive at the depot, followed by the ringing of the fire bells. They soon discovered that the two tanks were on fire; the oil tank contained about twelve thousand gallons and the gasoline tank about seven thousand gallons. The great volume of smoke and heavy fire made it clear the plant could not be saved, so the efforts of the Fire Department were directed at protecting the adjoining buildings. The heat and flames were intense and threatened to spread to nearby buildings. If this was allowed to happen, the entire town would be in danger.

The firemen poured water onto the large warehouse and elevator of the Tuscarora Mill which were only a few feet from the facility. The buildings caught fire several times but were quickly extinguished. In addition, the lumber yards of Schroff & Co. were also in danger of being consumed. The firemen on the hose line had to know that they were in danger. The men probably moved further away from the tanks and re-positioned behind some buildings, hoping to shield themselves from the explosion that was sure to come. They continued to pour on the water and wait…

The newspaper described what happened next: 

    Fortunately at the time of the explosion, some of the firemen were protected by adjoining buildings. The force of the explosion sent a flame of fire and a dense volume of smoke up in the air over a hundred feet. Had the explosion been in a lateral direction, lives would have been lost and the extent of damage to property cannot be estimated. To those who had the nerve not to run and hide, the scene was one of sublimity. A vast cloud of ominous looking smoke spread over the heavens, flashes of flame lit up the surrounding country, making discernible objects at a great distance. We are told that many citizens in the neighboring towns saw the spectacle and wondered at the cause. The people of Leesburg can congratulate themselves that there was no other loss than the property of the company.

“Those who had the nerve not to run and hide” aptly described the firemen who stood steadfast in their commitment to save the surrounding buildings and the Town. They had survived the deadly blast; which was seen for miles around as it lit up the early morning darkness, and had earned the praise and respect of the citizens of Leesburg. The total loss was estimated at only $5,000.00, a much smaller amount than it could have been.

The Town realized just how close it had come to suffering a major disaster and later that day, the Town Council met in special session to address the fire. The meeting minute’s show that they were very concerned with the fact that the Town was nearly wiped out by the fire and on motion of Councilman P. F. Shoff, the following resolution was passed –

    Whereas a fire originating on premises occupied by Standard Oil Co. destroying their oil tanks, occurred early this morning greatly endangering the surrounding property, and calling the attention of the people to the danger of the community in having such large quantities of highly inflammable oils and products of same stored so near to numerous other buildings.

   Resolved that the tanks of said Standard Oil Co. are a nuisance to the other property of the Town and that under section #28 of the codified laws of this corporation, the Council is prohibited from granting privilege to said Standard Oil Co. to rebuild said storage warehouse or tanks within the corporate limits of said Town.

The Council, under the authority of regulating the protection of property and the abatement of nuisances, had wisely passed an ordinance prohibiting the erection of so dangerous a plant with in the corporate limits.

Over a year and half later, the Standard Oil Company’s burned out and collapsed tanks were still lying near the depot where they fell. There was probably residual fuel oil and other products mixed with rain water in the rusted hulks creating a dangerous situation. In addition to the chemicals, there would also have been sharp edges and debris waiting to fall. On August 8, 1904, the Town Council met and addressed the complaints that the ruins of the Standard Oil Company tanks were in a dangerous condition and considered unsafe. The Town Sergeant was instructed to notify the Standard Oil Company that the tanks would have to be removed. It took some time, but eventually the debris was cleaned up. In fact, the facility was rebuilt near its original location but just outside of the Town limits.          

November Incidents From Around Loudoun County 1803 - 1925

The following are abbreviated accounts of  incidents from "The Lost History of the Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company and the Fire Service in Loudoun County".  Detailed descriptions of these fires are recounted in our 400 page book.

November 22, 1820 – A stable to the rear of stores on King Street in Leesburg was destroyed.

November 18, 1867 - The roof of  a wooden shed attached to the residence of Mr. Edgar L Bentley, of Leesburg, burned.

November 16, 1878 - The Thomas Nichols barn in Philomont, burned.

November of 1881 - The storehouse of Mr. Taverner, in Hamilton,  was destroyed by fire.

November 24, 1882 - Mrs. Shlief of Leesburg had her dress catch fire while lighting a lamp. The fire was extinguished with no loss of life.

November 30, 1888 - The new public school house near Catoctin Church, seven miles from Leesburg was burned. Cause – Unknown

November 1890 - The barn on the Wheatland Farm, located 8 miles south of Leesburg, burned.

November 08, 1894 -The residence of Mr. Morris Mcfarland, about two and a half miles east of Aldie, took fire and was burned to the ground.

November 16, 1890 -The “handsome” dwelling house, near Hamilton Station and the W.O. Railroad, of Mr. William F. Mercer, was entirely consumed by fire.

November 22, 1891 – Two stables were destroyed by fire. They were located on Ayer St. just east of King, in a section locally known as “Murderers Bay” in Leesburg. A small cow stable and workhouse were also destroyed.

November 8, 1893 - The dwelling house of Mr. Guilford G. Gregg in Round Hill, was destroyed by fire. 

November 1894 - The furniture factory in Round Hill, was almost completely destroyed by fire.

November 17, 1896 - The stable of Mr. Wallace George in Leesburg, was burned and with it a valuable horse belonging was killed.

November 1899 – The basement of the home belonging to Judge J. B. Mccabe of Leesburg was damaged by fire.

November 22 1904 - The dwelling of R. H. Wilson in Round Hill was destroyed by fire.

November 22 1904 - The large stave, heading and barrel factory located between Round Hill and Hillsboro was destroyed by fire.

November 10, 1905 – A fire damaged The Leesburg Steam Laundry building.

November 25, 1905 - About fifty stables of the Loudoun County Horse and Colt Show Association and a dwelling house occupied by the Hellem Family, were totally destroyed by fire. The property was located one mile west of Leesburg.

November 13, 1916 -The ice plant building used by the Christo Cola Company in Leesburg was destroyed by fire.

November 19, 1918 - The Bluemont Mill burned down for the third time.

November, 10, 1919 – In Middleburg, The W. W. WELSH & Co. Store along with the houses of Dr. Goettling, and Mr. Haga were destroyed by fire and several other houses were damaged

November 26, 1919 - The 100 year old house, formerly known as the “Noble Braden Place”and located in Paonian Springs was destroyed by fire.

November 22, 1920 – A fire damaged the Leesburg home of Mr. And Mrs. H. H. Lefferts. 

Please take a minute to check out our Loudoun County Aviation Disasters pages

Loudoun County Aviation Disasters

Since 1940, volunteers from Loudoun County have assisted with three airliner crashes. The first occurred in Lovettsville on August 31, 1940 when a the worst disaster in the history of commercial air travel (up until that time) occurred in Loudoun County. The incident became known as the Lovettsville air disaster, named for the small town near where the Pennsylvania Central Airlines Douglas DC-3 crashed. No definitive cause for the crash ever has been established, but bad weather was the major factor. The flight from Charlottesville to Washington DC was delayed half an hour in order to give the storm time to clear the area. Although thunderstorms still were in the area, the airplane — with 21 passengers and a crew of four — was cleared to take off. Just 23 minutes later the airplane slammed into a clearing 35 miles west of Washington, killing everyone on board. Go to the Loudoun County Aviation Disasters 1940 Lovettsville Crash for the full story.

On November 18, 1947, the second crash occurred at Lookout Rock in West Virginia, just across the border from Loudoun County. Pennsylvania Central Airlines Flight 410 departed Chicago at 13:52 for Norfolk with scheduled stops in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Washington. The aircraft encountered a thunderstorm on the leg from Chicago to Cleveland; the leg from Cleveland to Pittsburgh was uneventful. Approximately 30 minutes after takeoff from Pittsburgh, the aircraft was informed of air traffic delays and deteriorating weather conditions on the approach to Washington. Flight 410 struck the ridge in the Blue Ridge Mountains approximately two miles east of the Shenandoah River. All 50 passengers and crew on board were killed in what was (at the time) the second-worst airplane accident in the history of U.S. domestic air travel. All of the bodies were taken to down the Loudoun County side of the mountain due to the treacherous terrain on the West Virginia side. Go to Loudoun County Aviation Disasters - Friday the 13th, June 1947 Hillsboro Air Disaster.

The third crash occurred when TWA Flight 514, a Boeing 727-231 en route from Indianapolis, Indiana, and Columbus, Ohio, to Washington Dulles International, crashed into Mount Weather, Virginia, on December 1, 1974. All 85 passengers and 7 crew members were killed. Once again, Loudoun County Volunteers responded to the disaster. Former Loudoun County Fire Marshal Oliver Robert Dube was one of the first responders on the scene and for a period of time was the overall incident commander. Full story coming soon.

Former fire chief remembers '67 blaze in The Plains, Va.

In February 1967, The Plains, in Fauquier County Virginia, was the site of a massive fire that started when a truck struck a train in town. A by-stander with a camera happened to be nearby and captured this video which was later narrated by Fire Chief George Beavers. Even though we can not confirm that any Leesburg units responded, it is still an interesting look into firefighting from 50 years ago.

Thanks to Capt. Murphy for bringing it to our attention. 

The Lost History of the Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company

This 400 page book reveals information unseen for over a century about the Fire Company, the Town of Leesburg and the history of Loudoun County.

Over two hundred fires, many of them devastating and deadly, are documented and indexed by date and town.

Discover the true origin of the Star Fire Co., why the fire apparatus were once stored under the stage in the Opera House and many other forgotten facts.

Meet the fireman that commissioned Robert E. Lee, learn how the entire Company was almost wiped out by an explosion and how the Town came close to being destroyed by fire on more than one occasion.

Stories from around the County include the lynching of an accused arsonist and murderer, the use of dynamite to stop a fire and a multitude of little known events that make Loudoun’s history unique.

$24.95 (plus $7.00 S&H for online orders)

Proceeds benefit the Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company