Thank you. I recall in the pre-Offy era, midgets were 'poor boy' racers on all continents, with engines ranging from flathead Ford 4s, Fiats, Willys, etc. Now it seems you go for the hot thing, relying on imports.

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Cheers, Bob Storck in KCMO

Thank you

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Sure wish there was more racing and less survival testing. Sad to see all racing become cookie cutter cars.

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What engines do they use in NZ?

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Cheers, Bob Storck in KCMO

Thank you, Jack.

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Sad that this might be considered political, but this points out how a once 'miracle technological solution' soon fell out of favor due to the risk. Note that incendiary lithium is a major component of today's EVs, capable of ignition from as many triggers as calcium carbide, yet that aspect is all but suppressed.

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There are less dangerous solutions in process, and the allure of EV power is undeniable. We have to let the market and technology catch up.

Thank you Gene for filling in a lot of gaps in my knowledge. Did any of this involve the history of the Speedway at the time ... was that facility used in any way?

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Cheers, Bob Storck in KCMO

While Indianapolis Motor Speedway founders Jim Allison and Carl Fisher were successful businessmen, their lives were changed when Percy “Fred” Avery walked into Fisher’s automobile dealership in 1904 and showed him the contraption that would become the first reliable source of power for automobile headlights. They formed the Concentrated Acetylene Company to produce cylinders filled with highly explosive acetylene gas. Thinking the company’s name didn’t have much pizzaz, it was changed to Prest-O-Lite reflecting the ease and quickness of lighting the headlights.

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By 1909, the complexity of their product had grown from a simple acetylene canister to feed a lamp to the “Prest-O-Liter” which automatically regulated the pressure and was able to feed two, three, and even five lamps. Not only could up to five lamps be lit, but by turning a knob, the driver could change its brightness.

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The company began in a shed on the northside of Indianapolis. Having outgrown the shed, it was relocated to a three-story building on the southeast side of Indianapolis. It was in a mixed usage neighborhood which provided a labor source, most of whom could walk to work. It was also close to the stockyards providing quick access to the railroad depot from which filled canisters could be shipped nationwide.

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The ground floor was used for the filling and storage of the acetylene canisters. In the filling area, they had a dozen large, leak-proof tanks containing calcium carbide. In the filling process, the calcium carbide was combined with water to make acetylene gas. This gas was put into the Prest-O-Lite canister. Until the time for transport to the train station by horse-drawn dray, the canisters were stored on the first floor close to the filling area. The second floor was used for the assembly area where the canisters were refurbished when they were returned for refilling. The third floor was the company’s offices where three clerks, the head of sales, and the plant manager had their offices.

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On a sultry August 1907 day, between 200 and 300 canisters were waiting for shipment. Nearby, John Luckey was filling canisters. Suddenly he saw a fire break out. His first thought was to turn off the electricity to the filling machine. In his rush to reach the switch, he fell over a can of gas. Even though his hand was cut and his knee was sprained, he turned off the machine before rushing outdoors.

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Suddenly, the tanks inside the building became heated to the point where they started exploding. The employees on the first floor were able to escape the flames and the exploding canisters. It was more challenging for those employees on the second and third floors. Those on the second floor escaped through a window using a rope. The third-floor employees, including three women dressed in floor-length dresses, escaped through a window and down a fire escape.

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It was fortunate all the employees escaped quickly. For the first half-hour, exploding tanks became jagged pieces of steel hurtling through the air. Other tanks were like missiles being propelled from the building. One two-to-three-pound tank flew about 150 feet and impaled a railroad car. Another part of a tank flew across East Street and hit the side of Frank O’Brien’s restaurant.

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Rushing to the scene, fire chief Charles E. Coots could see from a distance the neighborhood where the fire was raging and instinctively knew it was the Prest-O-Lite plant. He had been concerned by the location of the plant given the explosive nature of the gas. With the barrage of exploding cylinders, his initial focus was to keep his men from risking their lives. The firemen prevented catastrophic damage to the building and nearby structures by providing a stream of water to the retaining tanks and kept them from exploding. If water had gotten into the tanks, when combined with the calcium carbonate, the resulting explosion would have caused significant damage to the surrounding area and possibly a significant loss of life.

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Following the fire, Charles Coots joined forces with building inspector Thomas Winterrowd to urge the city council to adopt an ordinance prohibiting the filling of canisters inside the city limits. This action, if taken, would have caused Prest-O-Lite to cease operations in Indianapolis until a new building was located and the operations resumed.? Prest-O-Lite announced that they would build a new location on South Street, near St. Vincent’s hospital.? Given the location of the proposed new factory, public sentiment was that the operations of Prest-O-Lite should not be within the city limits. But there was not a city ordinance prohibiting businesses with a “hazardous characteristic” from being located within the city. Despite misgivings, Winterrowed’s hands were tied by the lack of an ordinance. The proposed concrete and steel building met all of the codes of the city in terms of construction and fire safety. Reluctantly, he approved the building plans. Prest-O-Lite agreed that after filling the gas canisters, they would be stored in a concrete vault, and they would limit the number of large tanks of calcium carbide.

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As construction was proceeding on the new location, operations resumed in the previously damaged building. Due to heavy damage on the top two floors, the business filling operation and refurbishment of the tanks were on the first floor leading to very crowded conditions.

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Suddenly, on December 20, 1907, history repeated itself. John Luckey was working on the gas generator while Elmer Jessup was polishing the brass cylinders on the buffing machine as part of the refurbishment process. Employees later indicated that unlike the first time, the explosion was simultaneous with seeing the flames. Very quickly the flames were waist deep and spreading toward the ceiling.

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Unlike the fire in August, this fire had serious injuries. Jessup was located farthest from the door when the explosion occurred and was gravely burned. He later died from his injuries. Luckey escaped without a scratch.

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The exploding tanks sounded as if there was a bombardment. Just before the arrival of the first firemen, a cylinder was blown from one of the windows across the street to Frank O’Brien’s restaurant. O’Brien had been cooking a batch of sauerkraut. The force of the explosion blew the lid off the sauerkraut ruining the batch.

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Despite the efforts of the Indianapolis Fire Department, the building was destroyed by the two-alarm fire.

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The repercussions of the two explosions resulted in the passing of an ordinance in April 1908 prohibiting the manufacture?or storage of gas within the city limits, effectively banning Prest-O-Lite from conducting operations at the existing facilities. The ordinance further required that the building be at least fifty feet from any public highway and sixty feet from the line of any abutting property.?

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Prest-O-Lite had been anticipating this action and had purchased property outside the city limits at River Road and White River which met all the parameters established by the city council. Construction of the new facility had begun but was not yet completed. If the ordinance was strictly enforced, this would have shut down the Indianapolis operations. The owners negotiated with city officials to allow the operations, including the charging of gas cylinders, to continue until the new plant could open.