 | |
| Date | August 17, 1975 |
|---|---|
| Time | 5:57 a.m. |
| Location | South Philadelphia |
| Type | Fire |
| Deaths | 8 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 14 |
A refinery owned by Gulf Oil Corporation in Philadelphia, located[1] at Girard Point on the Schuylkill River in South Philadelphia, caught fire on Sunday, August 17, 1975.[2][3][4] This incident grew into an 11-alarm fire, not brought under control until 24 hours later, and resulted in the death of eight firefighters[5] of the Philadelphia Fire Department (PFD), injuries to 14 other firefighters, and the loss of four PFD vehicles.[6]
At the height of this fire, the loss of the huge, sprawling refinery complex was regarded as a real possibility as a tremendous firestorm enveloped two storage tanks, travelled through portions of the on-site piping, and destroyed the refinery's administration building.[7]
- ^ "Interstate 95 South - Philadelphia".
- ^ "Refinery blaze kills 3 firemen (initial news report)". Montreal Gazette.
- ^ "Volunteer firemen cut source of killer blaze". Wilmington Morning Star.
- ^ "3 dead in refinery blaze". the evening news.
- ^ "Violations cited at Gulf refinery". Reading Eagle. June 26, 1977.
- ^ "Gulf Oil Refinery- Philadelphia, Pa. 30 Years Ago. Tragic Fire Revisited". Firehouse. Archived from the original on 2013-06-17. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
- ^ "Multiple Firefighter Fatality Incidents" (PDF). http://f/ireduptraining.com. fireduptraining.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-07-08. Retrieved 2014-09-28.