A petroleum bulk plant fire in Kansas city 1959

the heat of the fire combined with a fierce heat from the sun made the fire line an extremely hot place dozens of firemen had already dropped from heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation ambulances were moving in a steady stream to and from 11 Kansas City hospitals they couldn't arrive fast enough to accommodate all the injured firemen they had been carried away from their stations and placed in the shade where their fellow firemen could administer oxygen and other first aid the temperature in Kansas City that morning was extremely high and these firemen could really feel it 19 companies from both Kansas City Kansas and Kansas City Missouri were there many had fallen more were to fall before this one was whipped the high number of injuries brought a call for all available ambulances in Greater Kansas City linemen from utility companies had to sever burning wires which were further endangering the firefighters still the fire raged although the firemen had been able to keep the Flames away from the huge gasoline tanks each of these tanks had 21,000 gallon capacity that was where the big fight was centered