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1875 June 18 at night, a fire broke out in a whiskey factory and its storage on Chambery Street in Dublin for an unknown reason.
The flame so heated the 5,000 barrels of whiskey stored in the warehouse that eventually they all exploded and the contents began to pour into the street.
Thirteen people died in the accident. However, none died from fire or smoke poisoning; all died of alcohol poisoning.
The river of whiskey spilling from the barrels flowed into the adjacent street. The whiskey itself ignited quickly and burned well, as did the gasoline. The fire began to spread and got out of control.
For some of those around, it turned out that all they could do was try to save as much valuable fluid as possible before it was lost.
Here’s how the Illustrated London Times described the event:
“Crowds of people gathered. They took off their shoes and hats and drank the whiskey that ran down the streams. Four people died in hospital from the consequences of a whiskey drink: the whiskey that flowed was very hot. Two shiploaders, named Healy and M’Nulty, were found unconscious at a Cork Street junction. Their shoes were thrown nearby, apparently they were used to beat. There are still many people in the hospital who suffer from the same thing. They say that the two boys are already dying, it is feared that there will be more deaths ”.
According to newspaper articles, the depth of the “river” of burning whiskey was 6 inches (about 15 centimeters), the width was 2 feet (about 60 cm), and it lasted about 400 meters. Several surrounding buildings also caught fire.
Many of the Dubliners who lived in the surrounding houses exploded. But some Dubliners, through whom the river flowed, decided to seize the opportunity and, despite the risks, tried to collect the flowing whiskey in various ways.
Several of the 5,000 buildings, which were initially thought to have caught fire, arose after some time in enigmatic circumstances. For example, three barrels were somehow found on a nearby street, and as a result, six more men were arrested for being completely drunk in a public place. Several of them also ended up in the hospital.
The fire continued and the river flowed for a couple of hours. Eventually the Dublin fire brigade managed to control the situation by placing a horse manure “fence” in the street that stopped the fire. Although the whiskey was able to get through the “fence”, the fire continued to spread and was eventually put out.
Later it became known that a total of 24 people were poisoned by burning whiskey in various hospitals, 13 of whom died.
Made according to the Irish Times.
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