Big oil plant lost in fire

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33925, 19 August 1975, Page 21

Big oil plant lost in fire

(N.Z. PA -Reuter—Copt/riflht) PHILADELPHIA, August 18. A huge fire destroyed one of the biggest oil refineries on the 1 7 nited States east coast and was still raging out of control today after burning for nearly 24 hours.

Oil men described the blaz< at the Gulf Corporation’! plant on the Delaware Rive: (as the worst in the industry’! (history. At least three firemen an (known to have been killed (three more are missing and a least 10 people injured. Flames shot hundreds o metres into the air and thicl black smoke blanketed mos of Philadelphia's southerr suburbs as the fire gutted th< Gulf complex, including tht administration building anc (several million dollars wort! iof computers. The blaze began yesterday (morning while a tanker wa; (unloading at the refinerv dock. Two hours later firemen said that it was under control — but an explosion ripped thnough the plant as they played hoses on smouldering debris and the flames were soon raging. Six missing United Press International reported that the fire marshal's office said that at least six firemen were uniaccounted for and 13 other ■ persons, including 10 firemen, injured after the second blaze erupted. The Mayor (Mr Frank Rizzo) said that 300.000 bar-

te.rels of crude oil were on fin ‘s and in threat of igniting ?r|“hundreds of thousands <>f ’sjbarrels of napthalene and (gasoline. re “There is a million and a d.jhalf gallons of oil there.” at (the Mayor said. “We have to let it burn af out because if vapours build :k up and become locked we get st (explosions. •n “Eve never seen anything ie(like this,” he said. Ie The Fire Commissioner 'd((Mr Joseph Rizzo), the •h (Mayor’s brother, said that (the only way to battle the y|blaze now was to keep pour’s (ing water on it and let it y(burn. n | One of the burning tanks ’- was near the Penrose Avenue n bridge, a major artery whieh ;s | spans the Schuylkill River n and which had been closed e all day because of the first early morning blaze. Mr Jack Burke, manager of the refinery, said that some il 5} hours after the second e blaze broke out that the fire it (was being contained to an i-iarea where four storage r| tanks were destroyed. i,| He said, "With some luck d(we might be able to hold (but it will take some luck. k(lt is still an extremely hot ■'and dangerous fire.”