At 7:30 a.m. on December 18, 1953, a fire was discovered in the Leon E. Kocher coal yards at the north end of the Oak Hill Cemetery in Millersburg. The fire started when a 3000 gallon tank of road oil was being heated, and the railroad tie base caught on fire. Millersburg firemen used a Fog nozzle and a booster tank to put the fire out.
At 6 a.m. on December 18, 1982, while workers were performing a routine gauging operation at a fuel tank at a power plant near Caracas, Venezuela, the tank exploded. It was one of nine large fuel tanks located at the plant in Tacoa. The explosion blew the roof off the tank, which then fell and ruptured the water lines for the in-plant fire defenses, rendering them useless. Fire companies arrived from 20 minutes away. By that time, the tank was burning with huge balls of flame leaping 60 to 100 feet in the air. Without water and because the tanks were so tall, it was decided to let the fire burn itself out. By early afternoon, a large crowd of firefighters, plant workers, and local residents had gather to watch the spectacular fire. About eight hours after the initial fire had started, there was a violent boilover. The explosion and resulting fireball killed over 150 people before the ejected flaming liquid raced down the hillside toward the plant and local population. 40,000 residents had to be evacuated. The fire, which burned for three days, killed over 150 people, injured 500, and left 1,000 homeless. United States, Canadian, and Venzuelan firefighters brought the fire under control on December 21st.
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The section of calls we've responded to has been compiled from fire company records, newspapers, and other sources. Listings for years prior to 1981 might be incomplete.
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The listing of local incidents is for incidents that happened around our local area, including some from Lykens for which the fire company was not dispatched. It is certainly not a complete listing, and is not intended to be. It is included here for your entertainment. Incidents listed here have been gathered from public sources.
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The listing of other noteworthy incidents includes incidents from anywhere outside our local area (for which we were not dispatched). Also included in this section are historical events from our fire company, Lykens, or around the world. It is certainly not a complete listing, and is not intended to be. It is included here for your entertainment. Incidents and events listed here have been gathered from public sources.
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