I have always imagined that an oil well which has taken fire must be a difficult thing to control, but I did not fully realise the virulence of these fires until I came across an account of a well of petroleum in Rumania which has been in flames for no less than three years. The extinction of the blaze by means of a powder invented for the occasion marks the end of a campaign of fire-fighting, in the course of which thirty-seven persons have lost their lives. The heat around the burning well was so intense that it was impossible to approach it, but numerous devices for its extinction were tried from a distance. These included the breaking-up of the surrounding ground by bombs dropped from aeroplanes, and the dropping upon the column of fire of bombs filled with extinguishing gases. None, however, had any effect. The most spectacular attempt was that made by an American engineer, who succeeded in shooting an enormous bell of bronze over the mouth of the well, thereby cutting off the flow of oil. This seemed at first to have the desired effect, but after the fire had been suppressed for twenty minutes the bell was blown into the air with a terrific explosion, the engineer was killed by the flying fragments.
The Irish Times, February 27th, 1931.