Burst Tank at Ball Factory
At about 1:30 on the afternoon of Monday March 16, 1896, an alarm went out from Box 6-1 near the Ball Brothers factory. Immediately the citizens of Muncie feared the worst. There had been other fires at Ball glass works, one of the city’s major employers. And yes, the fire department was headed for the factory. But this was no ordinary fire.
The new, large Continuous Tank No. 3 in the green bottle factory had been performing well until a sudden increase in the natural gas pressure forced several blocks out of the south end of the tank, spewing a stream of molten glass onto the factory floor. Joseph Holtzer, who was working close to the break in the tank, immediately shouted a warning to Tom O’Meara and the other men and boys who were blowing nearby. Thanks to quick reflexes, the workers managed to spring to a place of safety as the cry of FIRE could be heard throughout the plant.
The molten glass quickly ignited the wooden blowers’ platform around the tank and other flammables in its path. Realizing the severity of the situation, the well-drilled employees sprang into action. Some grabbed buckets and, forming a line, passed them from a water trough to the fire. Others connected a hose to the hydrant inside the factory and started pouring water on the flames.
Edmund B. Ball, who was in the factory at the time of the accident, was coordinating the fire-fighting efforts when he noticed that the flames were being drawn into a large air pipe that ran through the plant. Knowing that this could soon set the entire factory ablaze, Mr. Ball quickly climbed the iron girders and severed the pipe, ending the threat.
When Chief Shepp and the horse-drawn wagons of Department No 2 of the Muncie Fire Department arrived on the scene, they laid two hoses and began pouring water on the molten glass.
Largely due the efforts of the Ball employees, the water from hose and bucket cooled the glass quickly, and the factory building was saved. Mr. Ball praised his men for their efforts saying that they couldn’t have worked harder if their own homes were on fire.
Amazingly, no one was injured seriously when the tank blew out. Only one man was hurt; he suffered a bruised ankle. As for the building, Mr. Ball estimated the damage to the tank and structure at about $2000. Rebuilding would be begun at once. Just another day at Ball Brothers.
