By FireRescue magazine staff

On Aug. 17, 1975, a fire erupted at the former Gulf Oil Refinery, located on the Schuylkill River in southwest Philadelphia. During the many hours of firefighting operations, the fire took the lives of six firefighters. Two others would die from their burns multiple days after the fire. Fourteen other firefighters were injured, and multiple fire apparatus were destroyed.

Today, 35 years after that tragic event, we remember the firefighters who lost their lives.
• Firefighter John Andrews, Age 49, Engine 49
• Firefighter Joseph Wiley, Age 33, Ladder 27
• Firefighter Roger Parker, Age 28, Ladder 27
• Firefighter Hugh McIntyre, Age 53, Engine 56
• Firefighter Robert Fisher, Age 43, Engine 33
• Firefighter Ralph Campana, Age 41, Ladder 19
• Fire Lieutenant James Pouliot, Age 35, Engine 20 (Pouliot died of his burns on Aug. 24).
• Firefighter Carroll Brenek, Age 33, of Engine 57 (Brenek died of his burns on Aug. 30).

Tragedy Strikes
According to a 2007 article in Industrial Fire World (IFW) by Mike Pence and Bob Burns, on Aug. 17 at 6 a.m., hydrocarbon vapors emanating from a Gulf Refinery tank accumulated in the area of a nearby boiler house and were ignited by an unknown ignition source. A flame front followed the vapors back to the tank, causing multiple explosions. Other tanks quickly ignited as well.

The Philadelphia Fire immediately responded to the incident, and within the hour, six alarms had been called. According to the article, “Over the next several hours, firefighters utilized deluge guns and master streams to cool down surrounding exposures, and applied foam directly to the burning tanks and piping in an effort to extinguish the fire. By 8:44 a.m., it appeared that the fire was well contained and the situation sufficiently stabilized to declare the fire under control.”

Unfortunately, the situation was actually worsening. The refinery’s sewerage system was not up to the task of properly draining the foam, water and petroleum-naphtha product mixture that was accumulating in the area.

Three firefighters were attending to an engine and wading in the foam-water-petroleum mixture when the accumulated liquid ignited. Other firefighters immediately dove into the liquid to try to rescue the trapped firefighters.

Commissioner Joseph Rizzo, who witnessed the entire incident, later told a news source, “The flames just engulfed them. They were trying to get under the foam, but to no avail. They were human torches.”

This new fire spread quickly, destroying two of the department’s foam pumpers and a Gulf Refinery foam pumper, and engulfing a nearby administration building.

Commissioner Rizzo ordered all the “D” platoon members from the day shift held over, and at 6:01 p.m., he ordered the 11th alarm. Approximately 600 firefighters were ultimately working the incident.

The fire was finally brought under control on Aug. 18 at 5:38 a.m.

In August 2007, approximately 200 people gathered at the Fireman’s Hall Museum in Philadelphia as plaques were unveiled to honor the firefighters lost in the refinery disaster.

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