# Henry Ulrich and following witnesses (gas works reservoir questions)
# Testimony before the Board of Police and Fire Commissioners, session of Tuesday 28 Nov. 1871 (day 5), as reported in the Chicago Tribune of 1871-11-29, page 4
# Source: Library of Congress, Chronicling America (lccn sn82014064): https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn82014064/1871-11-29/ed-1/?sp=4 ; OCR text https://tile.loc.gov/text-services/word-coordinates-service?segment=/service/ndnp/dlc/batch_dlc_clark_ver03/data/sn82014064/no_reel/1871112901/0004.xml&format=alto_xml&full_text=1
# Page-OCR lines 957-1022; uncorrected OCR; written 2026-09-14T06:28:05Z.
# STATUS: NEWSPAPER REPORT (reported speech with some direct quotation) -- not the stenographic transcript. 

HENRY ULRICH,
a policeman, stationed at tho Arnmrv
called to give his statement of the tmSn/’ o f7of
thegasatthawoljs. A frame building opposite
fl«p«TOl.toU»,Bd a shed of tflo gas
worSs followed. An officer of the workTsald
lot go, everything took lire ST fin
J Afau St t e gns works o first°on r: the 0
Adams street. As soon as the can
the fire spread attest’the wtnl HehSd nJt
th“ AiZ^“ Dg Plod 03tcopt a 111110 Powder in
John Doyle, engineer of the steamer Veto
great ralae*; xamiuecl but hla testimony was of no
7,000,000
NICHOLAS DUIIACir.
biy need n forbeddtog aU ho“ c P cno b ot
On^m&Tffe^
would put out his coal He wns a lnw
reached the A™ there were four buildings
go^he^o?thTfire l^
a»SouthSidXthoh^g^o over
TZ^° nSibmty WhCn be saw°tho he
of the Little Giant?dld anything of the
or°ieß3. r
_ BIR. PETER T. lIUBTTC
Superintendent of the Chicatro 6ia Tuiif ._a
Coke Company, testified :W w£f nt S rhn ”'l
°f° r be during the fire, but did noflkuSw whSSo
tbo fire began on the South Sido At thafti™
the coal shed running nortli from tim
house was on fire, as well os theThS tuf
jt° telescopic 8 bffl'^S
uncoupling as bo arrived. Thovalvc
olowul, as wdl as the MonrmTstreef v«i™
No other valve had been tonobed, The
‘'“ootvoro. in case of fire, to'keep the hddm
down, which were obeyed, and the gaswaa bnbS
conveyed over to the North Side, and to raSSf
c ity- The gas remained in the holder r,!r
days. The hre opened the seams and tu2 r ton
mnee leaked m,L C holde? d w ls° gi?
independent
111010 no chanooforoscanfl
Jj? “P °f .the gasometer, except from t!in
man-hole. The North Sido gasometer could
not have been full at that
night. The water in the tanks did not
SSie wl Sf lt ll a S°t filled it rau off luto tho
His brother or the night Superintendent
Ta 6 sent tiio gas to the North
A«o*r a p n !a amount couftl have escaped
After tho breaking of service pipes there was no
I’ l 10 but ratW a vacuum in too ph.s,
ua the air mixed with it P SS
caused the explosion. As a proof
nn= t m.?d!S le Lu? lveß J l aa J 3eon °P°ned, the small
gas-holder still retained five feet of gas. Tha
Towering of the gas-holder could not have been
rapid. None of the holders were full. Xbfiewas
no explosion in the works of tho comn-.nv Th«™
were no means by wbioh the g»= cotfid ba turned
into the sewers, nor the Water from theb?s to
SE.a it no? v i T b« coyer of toe manhole
was not burned or obarred.
morning? ard thcn aa J ournod tin 10 o’clock this
Need of ft Piilftlf Storehouse for Goods la