STREAMS OF FLAMES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21804, 19 May 1934, Page 3 (Supplement)

STREAMS OF FLAMES

3000 GALLONS OF OIL FUEL PEOPLE EVACUATE HOMES About 3000 gallons of fuel oil caught fire at a Liverpool garage lately, and the police ordered neighbouring houses to be evacuated in case of a disastrous explosion. The fire broke out at Marston's Road Service Garage in Great Howard Street at 9.55 p.m. This is one of the most famous haulage in the north of England. Their vehicles are all run on heavy Diesel oil. In the garage were 20 of their lorries, and two private cars. llie garage also contained an oil reservoir holding 3000 gallons of fuel oil. Beneath the floor were huge storage tanks containing oil and petrol. There was enough fuel to blow up everything within a square mile. A watchman gave the alarm. Every fire brigade in the city arrived—to find the place blazing. All available police were called to encircle the garage. Flames-lit up the sky for miles around. Then strange things happened. All the people iu surrounding houses began to run to safety. They came out carrying every valuable possession they had. | Some walked through the flame-lit j streets carrying articles of furniture. At J the same time hundreds ran to the garage, trying to break through the police barrier. Meanwhile the firemen, garmasked and using the latest foam chemicals for fighting oil fires, were cuttiing the flames off from the storage tank beneath. Suddenly there was a muffled roar, a burst of flames licking the clouds, and streams of fire poured down the gutters of the streets into the drains. One tank of oil had burst. It blew off the roof. The side of the garage crumbled. But the worst was over. The firemen fought down the flames that threatened the large underground reservoir. After two hours' fighting the fire brigades won. The refugees returned to their homes —carrying their furniture with them. The sightseers wandered back through the silent streets.