Clay County AlArchives News.....Three Children of Mr. & Mrs. Allen Britt die from a Fire November 7, 1919
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Linda Ayres http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00031.html#0007674 February 19, 2023, 3:35 am

Ashland Progress November 7, 1919
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Allen Britt who resides just north of Delta was the 
scene of a horrible occurrence Saturday a result of which three are dead, 
several other members of the family are severely burned, and the home and its 
contents are in ashes. A lamp was being filled with oil when an explosion 
occurred which caused the tragedy, the father and all the children being burned 
in varying degrees. Mrs. Britt is said to have escaped injury. One child, a 
little daughter, was burned to death that night, while the others survived a day 
or two. Mr. Britt is said to be in a serious condition. It is reported that 
gasoline had been mixed with the kerosine which ignited and caused it to explode 
so easily. The scene of the disaster has been visited by a great many people 
from various portions of Clay and from Cleburne and Calhoun counties and it is 
the verdict of all that it is one of the saddest occurrences they have ever 
seen. The surviving members of the family have been removed to the home of W. E. 
Reagan, Mrs. Britt's father, where everything possible is being done to relieve 
the suffering and save their lives.

Anniston Star Nov 5, 1919:
A long-distance phone message from the Delta operator Wednesday at noon said 
that Allen Britt, dangerously burned last Saturday night when, three of his 
children and his home were burned in aa oil lamp explosion, was still alive; but 
that little hope for his recovery was held out by the attending physicians. The 
message also stated that the baby child of the family was in a critical 
condition Wednesday morning, and that its recovery was a matter of doubt. The 
two children who died Monday night as a result of their injuries were buried at 
Delta Tuesday afternoon. Several hundred people gathered at tie heme of Jean 
Ragan, from which the services were held and where Mrs. Britt and the other 
members of the family are being treated, to extend their aid and sympathy to the 
sorely stricken citizens of the Delta valley. Mrs. Britt and the oldest daughter 
are the only, members of the family who are not seriously burned as a result of 
the fire which exacted such a terrible toll at the Britt home last Saturday 
night. 

Cleburne News Dec 5, 1919:
A damage suit to the amount of $200,000 has been instituted by Allen Britt 
against the Standard Oil Company. This suit is for the loss of the Britt home 
and all the furnishings, the death of three members of the family and the severe 
burning of two others, caused by an explosion of oil in which there was alleged 
to be a mixture of gasoline. The fire occurred Nov. 1 at Delta. The case will be 
tried in the federal court. Mr. Britt and one child are still in a critical 
condition due to burns deceived.

Cleburne News, Mar 25, 1920:
Three suits in which damages aggregating $150,000 are asked to have been brought 
against the Standard Oil Company by Allen Britt, a resident of Delta, who 
alleges that gasoline mixed with kerosene by a man in the employ of the oil 
company and sold to him as kerosene caused the death of two of his children, 
maimed him for life and caused the burning of his home at Delta early in 
November last year. It is reported that an agent of the Standard Oil Company 
sold a merchant at Delta a quantity of gasoline and unknowingly poured it into a 
kerosene tank, from which was drawn the supposed kerosene sold to Mr. Britt. 
While engaged in filling an oil lamp at the home with the fuel he had purchased, 
an explosion occurred and one of Mr. Britt's children was burned to death, and 
another so badly charred that it died a few days later and he himself was 
permanently disabled as a result of burns. A suit for $50,000 has been set for 
hearing at the spring term of the federal district court in Anniston. Another 
suit has been filed at Birmingham and still another at Tuscaloosa, it said.


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