Volunteers Stop Major Gasoline Fire After Commuter Train Hits Tanker
—photo by Bill Johnson
When a commuter train ran into a truck carrying 7500 gallons of gasoline in the middle of town, most of the members of the Southampton, Pa., Volunteer Fire Department were at the station meeting with township supervisors to ask for tax support for the first time in the department’s history.
The first notification of trouble came as one member went out to move an engine back into the station. He saw a large cloud of smoke billowing into the sky from a short distance away. It was 9:48 a.m. last Jan. 2. Fire fighters would be involved in the incident for the next 12 hours.
Upper Southampton Township has 65 square miles and a population of 18,000. The fire department, under the command of Chief Charles Croft for the last 15 years, is well trained and well equipped.
Unknown fire
As company members responded to the smoke, the county dispatcher in Doylestown was radioed that Station 2 was rolling to an unknown type of fire in the vicinity of Second Street Pike and Knowles Ave.
First Assistant Chief Cary Flack, the senior officer present, took his position on the front seat. His first thought was that the fire was in an oil storage yard nearby, where tanks contained a million and a half gallons of fuel oil. He was facing heavy fire and dense black smoke that obscured anything else in the center of the roadway.
Operating on the axiom that “you are entitled to one look before you act,” Flack directed Engine 2 to pull into a lumber yard parking area off Knowles Ave. while he made his initial size-up.
Flack found an Atlantic Richfield tank truck turned on its side and completely engulfed in flames. At this point, he could not see the south side of the fire which would have told him more of the story.
A one-car Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) train, outbound from Philadelphia to Newtown, had slammed into the tank truck, ripping it open as it burst into flames and causing it to partially crush an automobile at the intersection.
Exposure protection
Immediate exposure protection was paramount. Hazards included the lumber yard, the fuel storage area and, on the corner where the wind was driving the flames, a gasoline station, a building occupied by a hairdresser and a church and rectory.
Flack radioed Engine 21 to take a hydrant and lay in with 4 and 3-inch supply lines to Engine 2 in the parking lot.
At 9:50 a.m., just two minutes after the first alarm, Flack ordered the transmission of a second alarm for mutual aid. He also requested additional ambulances and a medical intensive care unit.
Southampton’s elevating platform was directed to enter between the church and gasoline station, take a hydrant on Second Street Pike and lead off with a 2½ -inch hand line to protect exposures at this junction. Third Assistant Chief Bob Stahl was placed in charge of this area.
From his vantage point, Stahl advised Flack that the SEPTA rail car was involved in the collision and was parked some 20 feet north of the burning gasoline tanker. To complicate the situation, 33,000-volt power lines were down and arcing and dancing on the rails. The other power lines running through the area were also on the ground.
Second Assistant Chief Allen Ridge was assigned to check on the rail car. He contacted the train conductor, who notified Ridge that all people were off the train safely. There had been only 3 passengers on board.
—photo by John Shimkonu.
What the conductor did not know was that from the crushed and burned front of the train the motorman had slipped to the ground, where he lay with his clothing on fire. Fire fighters, however, saw him. Captain Ken Klein, Lieutenant John Schmid and Fireman Scott Schimpf rushed in to carry the motorman to a point of safety.
The fire in the motorman’s clothing was extinguished. He was placed in an ambulance and rushed to Warminster General Hospital. From there, he was transferred via helicopter to the Delaware Valley Burn Center at the Chester-Crozier Hospital. With burns over 90 percent of his body, he died two weeks later.
Driver escaped
The driver of the car said he never saw the truck coming, “only the wall of flame that preceded it. I thought I had bought it. Then the roof collapsed and there was fire all over. I thought this is how I’m going to die. I’m going to roast.” Although he was bent beneath the roof, he was able to force the car door open and flee through the flames, suffering only minor injuries.
The Bryn Athyn Fire Department ambulance was in the vicinity at the time of the collision and removed the drivers of the automobile and truck to Holy Redeemer Hospital in Meadowbrook.
Ridge ordered a l/4-inch line with a foam eductor and applicator to extinguish the fire in the rail car.
As the Northampton Fire Company rolled in with four engines, a ladder and rescue truck on the second alarm, Chief Tom Briggs was ordered to take care of the west side of the fire.
Third alarm
The third alarm was transmitted at 9:56 a.m., with a response of two engines, a ladder and rescue unit from Feasterville commanded by Assistant Chief John Wojnar. Feasterville was assigned to assist in protecting the church and rectory on the south side. They fed a 3-inch line from their pumper to Southampton’s elevating platform (1000-gpm pump, boom not used), and they took off a 2 ½-inch hand line to cover the exposures.
Chief Stevens and his entire police force had been at the meeting and reported to the scene directly from the fire station. Stevens ordered the evacuation of a nearby shopping center, moving 500 people and their cars out of the area. He then set up traffic control assisted by the Bucks County Fire-Police who responded in force. The chief termed this as “the worst catastrophe we’ve had in Southampton in my 23 years on the force.”
Flack directed that a deluge gun be set up to operate on the exposures. With flames going 100 feet into the air, no attempt was made to put water on the burning gasoline for fear of spreading the fire. The smoke rolling across the morning sky reached into New Jersey, some 15 miles away. It was obvious to Flack that he was going to need more assistance to extinguish the tanker fire.
Navy sends help
Flack requested assistance from the Naval Air Developent Center (NADC) located in Warminster, Pa. Acting Assistant Chief William Adams of the NADC Fire Department was already on the fireground and was advised of this request by Stahl.
Adams then requested over Navy radio that they dispatch one MB-1 (second largest crash fire/rescue vehicle used by the Navy) with 1000 gallons of water and 65 gallons of AFFF discharged through a turret nozzle.
By then it was 10:02 a.m. Navy Warminster MB-1 arrived on location at approximately 10:08 and was located on the south side of the fire. The Navy’s first attack was to extinguish surface fires and then the tanker. This attempt was stopped when the wind direction changed, covering the MB-1 with smoke and extreme heat from the fire. With the danger of the fire and fallen electrical wires, the MB-1 was withdrawn.
After a consultation at the command post, it was determined that, considering the intensity of the fire, the MB-1 could not handle the job alone. A request was made for assistance from the Willow Grove Naval Air Station.
Willow Grove responded with a P-4A crash fire rescue truck (the Navy’s newest and largest vehicle, carrying 1500 gallons of water and 135 gallons of foam) and a foam trailer under the command of Captain Alyward. Upon its arrival, Adams requested Alyward to top off their MB-1 with foam.
The Willow Grove Volunteer Fire Department, dispatched for a report of smoke in their territory of Montgomery County, had come on in to the fire location, bypassing closer units in Bucks County who were not summoned. Their manpower was used to refill the MB-1.
Coordinated attack
Now a second coordinated attack was begun on the tanker with the MB-1 approaching directly north on Second Street Pike and the P4-A moving in from the parking lot on the west side. As they first hit the fire, a tremendous wave of heat was sent off toward the prime exposure. It was quickly controlled by the foam application, and the fire in the tanker was rapidly extinguished.
Throughout the fire, there were repeated explosions. They were caused when gasoline flowed into a sewer and ignited. Shortly after, four or five more distant sewer openings showed fire, and heavy smoke was noted coming from behind a shopping center. Straight AFFF was dumped into the sewer system.
Helicopter used
A TV news team helicopter on the scene was used by a command officer to fly over the area and determine the extent of the problem.
It was found that spill was increasing and there was fire in a creek, some 500 feet from the point of impact. This fire was quickly controlled with foam. Members of the Bucks County Hazardous Materials Technical Assistance Team at the command post notified environmental and health personnel. They recommended diking the flow of gasoline leaking from the tanker to prevent it from entering the storm sewer.
A charged 2½ -inch hose line was used to form the base of the dike. Sand was procured from the nearby lumberyard and spread on top of the hose by volunteer fire fighters and naval personnel to contain it at that point.
As a precautionary measure, straight AFFF was dumped into the burned tanker to cover the remaining gasoline. At this point it was estimated only 300 gallons remained in the burned hulk of the truck.
Flow to creek stopped
The next step was to control the flow of gasoline in the creek. The local oil company supplied technical assistance and loaned all the booms they had. Fire fighters began placing the booms directly behind the ponds and 100 yards downstream. The chief in the helicopter surveyed the area from above and recommended additional booms near a housing development. The Northampton VFD was assigned to that task and dispatched a pumper to handle the job.
At 1:19 p.m., a contractural spill service arrived to take over the cleanup operation, and at 2:16 the ARCO team arrived to offload the remaining fuel from the tank truck. When they moved their truck into position, a bonding wire was attached from tank to tank. After operations started, problems developed with the ARCO defueler and the operation was stopped. A hole was found in the line from the pump to the bottom fill on the tank. A second line was attached and the process started again.
Vacation
Chief Croft of Southampton arrived on location from a vacation site in the Pocono Mountains and, after being briefed, assumed command of the fireground operation. Ironically, Croft had resigned his position effective Monday, Jan. 4, but at this moment he was still the chief. He came from 100 miles away on receipt of a telephone call.
Shortly after 2 p.m., fire control began releasing units from the second and third alarms, but both Navy units remained on location assisting in the cleanup until 5 p.m. when they were relieved.
Southampton continued operations until 7:40 p.m. They returned to quarters, cleaned apparatus, repacked hose and became available for service again at 9:15.
In all, the response brought out approximately 200 volunteer and 10 paid fire fighters.
An investigation into the cause of the crash was begun immediately. There were conflicting stories as to whether the warning lights at the intersection were working or not. It was charged that a one-car train would not work the warning lights. Significantly, SEPTA went to all two-car trains the next day.
