CHEMISTRY 101: COLLEGE LAD UNLIKELY HERO IN DENVER DISASTER

Photos: Firefighters inspecting the railroad tank car, rescuer Richard Davies (inset) and Denver Mayor Stapleton at the scene of the industrial accident.

On Aug. 27, 1930, deadly chlorine gas escaped from a railroad tank car and drifted into the Denver Fire Clay Co. plant - and a college lad who studied chemistry helped save the day.

Twenty-three people, including 13 Denver firemen, were overcome by the yellow-colored gas, the Associated Press reported. The tank car carried 16 tons of the chemical.

J.W. Gibbs, a plant worker, donned a gas mask and closed a leaking valve, AP said.

The firemen weren't equipped with masks, AP said. The entire crew of Engine Co. 10 was felled by the fumes, the Rocky Mountain News reported.

Richard Davies, 24, a Yale University student working at the plant, hustled into the gas to administer first aid with a flask of ammonia stored in an emergency kit. The chemical can counter the effects of chlorine, the News said.

Davies said he learned that in chemistry class.

"There wasn't time to wait for doctors and ambulances, so I just dived right in," Davies, who eventually fell ill, said from his bed at Denver General Hospital.

The Denver Fire Clay Co. was located at 32nd and Blake streets.