Perquimans P 0O1310
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SOU company fire
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Memories warm, not pleasant
Last week marked the
fecood anniversary of the
Window Oil Company fire,
. and today there is little to
9 mark the spot except a few
charred remains.
-^-But the fire is far from
forgotten in this small town,
particularly by those who
fere most affected.
"The only way you could
have felt the fear wu to be
there," said Jean Winslow,
whose husband Julian is the
owner of the independent oil
( eompany.
Julian was down with the
Qu, the only reason h?-wasn't
already at the office when the
blase erupted at 7:50 a.m.
Jean had on her running
clothes and ?u about to take
off oo a 20 minute jog
"All of a sudden! heard this
tremendous blast, so J ran
down to that window," she
said, pointing toward the far
end of the house* "It's us!"
she said to her h sband, then
she ran out of tl s house and
over to the oil co; ipany just a
few blocks away.
What was sups >sed to have
been a short jog urned into a
sixteen hour 01 leal as she
spent the rest o{ the day and
much of the ni| ht on rescue
squad duty.
"They told us we ought to be
right across the street and if it
blows up, well.."
Three different oil com
panies jammed up against the
residence* that line Grubb
Street threatened the entire
town.
Only the determined efforts
of area fire departments,
directed by Hertford Chief
Charlie Skinner, saved the
town of Hertford, she said.
There wasn't a chance for
the oil company though, as the
orange biases and black
smoke billowed into the
January sky.
Jean described the night
mare of watching as one of the
Urge tanks exploded, sending
its top floating over house-tops
like a giant slow-motion
frisbee and landing on Center
Hill fireman Frank White.
&
s8"e
#
Hollowell Oil Company,
located in Winfall, has been
deemed not only safe, but
more than safe by Phil Riley,
representative of the Fire and
Rescue Service, a Division of
I- tie North Carolina Depart
ment of Insurance.
: "Hollowell Oil (Company) is
one of the safest built bulk
pliant facilities that I've ever
seen," said Riley who added,
"and Joel Hollowell has gone
far beyond what he had to do
to install a safe facility."
Riley, invited to
Perquimans County by the
Winfall Volunteer Fire
Department, was in the area
last week to present a p re-fire
planning program for
HolloweU Oil Company in
which four (Hertford, Winfall,
Belvidere, and Inter-County)
area volunteer fire depart
ments participated.
y Replacing windows
* Billy Owen! replaces windows in the department of recreation
offices on Grubb Street The project was paid for by the
Jayeettes Roc-for-Rec project this past fall and will hopefully
help keep the offices warm .
pSA forms
available
The Perquimans County
laycees have announced that
orms are available to
lominate persons for the 1979
laycee Distinguished Service
fcward, which will honor one
ndividual (or outstanding
tervice to the community.
The (orms may be obtained
rom Archie Miller, chairman
if the D&A program, at Miller
Livestock, or from Wayne
Ashley at the Bank of North
The agrard will be presented
at a banquet program on Jan.
SL
Outstanding
woman picked
Local nominees for the
County Jaycette
And by pre-planning a fire,
Riley said the possibility of
experiencing a major loss due
to fire was slim.
Riley also cited safety
measures Hollowell has taken
within the facility itself as fire
preventive.
According to Riley, all of
Hollowell's bulk tanks are
designed so that if a fire
should arise, the oil valves
automatically close.
Riley also noted that the fuel
flow can be shut off at all or
any points, and that all the
fuel tanks are designed to
keep fuel from flowing out of
control and to prevent spilled
fuel from flowing beneath the
tanks.
After a simulated fire
staged last Thursday night at
"Hotfowaror Company "
both the Hertford and WinfaU
Volunteer Fire Departments,
Winfall chief Wayne Winslow
said. "Within a period of five
minutes we had laid enough
hose to put three attack lines
into the fire," and added,
"That's laying over 2,200 feet
of hose."
At one point the fire
departments ran out of water
and had to draw it from the
Perquimans River.
The Winslows' fears were
compounded by the fact that
they had little insurance on
the facility. Julian Winslow
said the insurance amounted
to about 25 cents on the dollar.
Winslow's father had little
use for insurance, and had
raised his son to think the
same way. What little in
surance Julian had was
purchased after his father
died.
The cost of getting back into
business was more than
$600,000, a tremendous
financial burden for the
Winslows.
"I have no idea how long it's
going to take," Julian said.
"We hope to pay for it in our
lifetime."
Winslow wasn't one to mope
over his misfortune, though.
"It happens and what the hell
you gonna do about it," he
said. "There sure wasn't
anything I could do about it
then."
The next day he was back in
business, operating out of the
rooms above Peoples Bank on
Church Street and picking up
fuel from Hollowell Oil
Company.
Now Winslow Oil Company
sprawls across two acres erf
land in Winfall, and is much
safer than the crowded half
acre of bulk tanks and offices
that was the oil company off
Grubb Street.
If there was a positive
aspect of the fire, it was the
increased safety conciousness
that resulted afterwards.
Slide shows were prepared
that showed the techniques
used in battling the blaze, and
the fire departments, which
proved themselves well
prepared to fight the fire, are
probably even better prepared
now.
Firemen battle blaze
Firemen battle the blaze at the Winslow Oil
Company fire on Jan. 10, 1978. Safety
precautions taken since the fire insure that it
will remain the largest in the history of
Hertford.
Hollowell Oil Company,
along with Winslow Oil
Company, has moved to a
more isolated location in
Winfall.
"If we blow up again it will
be because I've got a dark
cloud over my head, just like
Joe Spliffits in Little Abner,"
Winslow said.
A new kind of safety con
ciousness, however, supports
the notion that the Winslow Oil
Company fire of 1978 will
remain the biggest fire in the
history of Hertford.
Post drill gathering
Area volunteer firemen gather for a picture
after pre-fire training at the Hollowell Oil
Company in Winfall. Pictured with the
firemen are Phil Riley (right, front) and Joel
Hollowell (next to Riley). Riley, of the N.C.
Department of Insurance, declared the oil
company to be one of the safest he has ever
seen.
NOTICE
The dental office of
Dr. Jack L. Boone, DDS
will be closed through Friday
January 25 while Dr. Boone is on
active duty with the NAVY. Normal
office hours will resume Monday,
January 28. For information,
call: 426-5452
NOTICE
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN in accordance with General
Statutes 163-33-(8) that the Primary Election will be
held May 6, 1980 and the Second Primary, if necessary,
will be held on June 3, 1980, within the County of
Perquimans, North Carolina. The hours will be 6:30
A.M. until 7:30 P.M.
CANDIDATES seeking Party nomination in the First
Primary. Mov 6. 1980 may Klein the office ofthe Board
of Elections beginning at 12:00 noon, January 7, 1980,
and not later than 12:00 noon, February 4, 1980,
pursuant to General Statues 1 63-1 06-c.
W.l. T1U.EY
i Xv. Chairman
** ' '4' * **
\ Your Pharmacist I
"Charles Woodard
Says ? (
C? Woodard'? Pharmacy, 101 N. Church Strett. I
^ Hertford. NC. Tel 52*2366 1
How not to save choke victim
Mama Cass used to sing with the Mamas and
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she died, choking on food.
As choking incidences increase this season, would1
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deeper in the throat. Rather, apply the Heimlich
Maneuver by pressing just below the ribcage and jerk
ing inward.
I'll send you a Home Choking Chart if you'll clip
tnis article ana send to
my Clipping Service, Box
5051. Raleigh, NC 27650
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