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1975 Philadelphia Gulf Refinery Fire
A refinery owned by Gulf Oil Corporation in Philadelphia, located at Girard Point on the Schuylkill River in South Philadelphia, caught fire on Sunday, August 17, 1975. This incident grew into an 11-alarm fire, not brought under control until 24 hours later, and resulted in the death of eight firefighters of the Philadelphia Fire Department (PFD), injuries to 14 other firefighters, and the loss of four PFD vehicles. 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. Before the fire The Girard Point Refinery, built in 1905, occupied of land located on the east bank of the Schuylkill River, from Girard Point in the south to Penrose Avenue in the north, with the ARCO Point Breeze Refinery located on the north side of Penrose Avenue and extending toward Passyunk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.The Political and Community Service Boundaries of Philadelphia ." '' City of Philadelphia''. Retrieved November 8, 2008. A diverse working-class community of many neighborhoods, South Philadelphia is well-known for its large population, but it also contains large [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Levee
A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually soil, earthen and that often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to the course of a river in its floodplain or along low-lying coastlines. The purpose of a levee is to keep the course of rivers from changing and to protect against flooding of the area adjoining the river or coast. Levees can be naturally occurring ridge structures that form next to the bank of a river, or be an artificially constructed fill dirt, fill or wall that regulates water levels. Ancient civilizations in the Indus Valley civilisation, Indus Valley, ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and China all built levees. Today, levees can be found around the world, and failures of levees due to erosion or other causes can be major disasters. Etymology Speakers of American English (notably in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Deep South) u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Rizzo
Francis Lazarro Rizzo (October 23, 1920 – July 16, 1991) was an American police officer and politician. He served as Philadelphia police commissioner from 1968 to 1971 and mayor of Philadelphia from 1972 to 1980. He was a member of the Democratic Party throughout the entirety of his career in public office. He switched to the Republican Party in 1986 and campaigned as a Republican for the final five years of his life. Like most of his contemporaries, Rizzo was opposed to the construction of public housing in established neighborhoods, most of which at the time housed majority-white populations. Rizzo was barred from running for a third term in office by the Philadelphia City Charter. He attempted to vote in a charter change to allow him to attempt a run for reelection but was soundly defeated after urging supporters to "Vote white", which he later admitted was "a poor choice of words". Before, during, and after his tenure as police commissioner, the Philadelphia police dep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of New York (state), New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, before emptying into Delaware Bay. It is the longest free-flowing river in the Eastern United States. The river has been recognized by the National Wildlife Federation as one of the country's Great Waters. The river's drainage basin, watershed drains an area of and provides drinking water for 17 million people. The river has two branches that rise in the Catskill Mountains of New York: the West Branch Delaware River, West Branch at Mount Jefferson (New York), Mount Jefferson in Jefferson, New York, Jefferson, Schoharie County, New York, Schoharie County, and the East Branch Delaware River, East Branch at Grand Gorge, New York, Grand Gorge, Delaware County, New York, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hog Island, Philadelphia
Hog Island is the historic name of an area southeast of Tinicum Township, Pennsylvania along the Delaware River, to the west of the mouth of the Schuylkill River. Philadelphia International Airport now sits on the land that was once Hog Island. History European settlers purchased Hog Island from the Lenape (Delaware) tribe in 1680. The settlers gradually developed the island by building log and earthwork dikes to minimize storm damage and convert the marshes into good grazing meadows. Hog Island supposedly got its name from the pigs which local residents left to roam free, as no fencing was needed. In 1917, as part of the World War I effort, the US government contracted American International Shipbuilding Corp. to build ships and a shipyard at Hog Island. At the time, Hog Island was the largest shipyard in the world, with 50 slipways. In 1918, a 4.5-mile (7.2 km) rail line was built to connect Hog Island with Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: the 60th Street Branch of the Penns ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
KYW-TV
KYW-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside CW affiliate WPSG (channel 57). Both stations share studios on Hamilton Street north of Center City, Philadelphia, while KYW-TV's transmitter is located in the city's Roxborough section. KYW-TV, along with sister station KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, are the only CBS-affiliated stations east of the Mississippi River with "K" call signs. History As WPTZ (1932–1953) The channel 3 facility in Philadelphia is Pennsylvania's oldest television station. It began in 1932 as W3XE, an experimental station owned by Philadelphia's Philco Corporation, at the time and for some decades to come one of the world's largest manufacturers of radio and television sets. Philco engineers created much of the station's equipment, including cameras. When the station began operations as W3XE, it w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Philadelphia
North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as everything north of either Vine Street or Spring Garden Street, between Northwest Philadelphia and Northeast Philadelphia. It is bordered to the north by Cheltenham Township along Cheltenham Avenue, Spring Garden Street to the south, 35th Street to the west and Adams Avenue to the east. The Philadelphia Police Department patrols five districts located within North Philadelphia: the 22nd, 25th, 26th, 35th and 39th districts. There are fifteen ZIP codes for North Philadelphia: 19120, 19121, 19122, 19123, 19125, 19126, 19130, 19132, 19133, 19134, 19137, 19138, 19140, 19141, and 19150. The city government views this sprawling chunk of Philadelphia more precisely as three smaller districts, drawn up by the Redevelopment Authority in 1964. These regions are (from north ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Chester, Pennsylvania
West Chester is a borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Located within the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,461 at the 2010 census. West Chester is the mailing address for most of its neighboring townships. When calculated by mailing address, the population as of the 2010 U.S. Census was 108,696, which would make it the 10th largest city by mailing address in the state of Pennsylvania. Much of the West Chester University of Pennsylvania North Campus and the Chester County government are located within the borough. The center of town is located at the intersection of Market and High Streets. History The area was originally known as Turk's Head—after the inn of the same name located in what is now the center of the borough. West Chester has been the seat of government in Chester County since 1786 when the seat was moved from nearby Chester in what is now Delaware County. The borough was incorporated in 1799. In the heart ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Firefighting Foam
Firefighting foam is a foam used for fire suppression. Its role is to cool the fire and to coat the fuel, preventing its contact with oxygen, thus achieving suppression of the combustion. Firefighting foam was invented by the Russian engineer and chemist Aleksandr Loran in 1902.Loran and the fire extinguisher at p-lab.org The s used must produce foam in concentrations of less than 1%. Other components of fire-retardant foams are organic s (e.g., trimethyl- trimethylene glycol and [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Master Stream
A deluge gun, fire monitor, master stream or deck gun is an aimable controllable high-capacity water jet used for manual firefighting or automatic fire protection systems. Deluge guns are often designed to accommodate foam which has been injected in the upstream piping. Installation Deluge guns are often fitted to fire boats, tug boats, and atop large fire trucks for use in manual firefighting, where they can be aimed and operated by one firefighter and are used to deliver water or foam from outside the immediate area of the fire. Deluge guns are sometimes installed in fixed fire protection systems to protect high hazards, such as aviation hangars and helicopter landing pads. Similarly, facilities with highly flammable material such as oil refineries may have permanently-installed deluge guns. Most apparatus-mounted deluge guns can be directed by a single firefighter, compared to a standard fire hose which normally requires several. Deluge guns can be automatically positioned ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deluge Gun
A deluge gun, fire monitor, master stream or deck gun is an aimable controllable high-capacity water jet used for manual firefighting or automatic fire protection systems. Deluge guns are often designed to accommodate foam which has been injected in the upstream piping. Installation Deluge guns are often fitted to fire boats, tug boats, and atop large fire trucks for use in manual firefighting, where they can be aimed and operated by one firefighter and are used to deliver water or foam from outside the immediate area of the fire. Deluge guns are sometimes installed in fixed fire protection systems to protect high hazards, such as aviation hangars and helicopter landing pads. Similarly, facilities with highly flammable material such as oil refineries may have permanently-installed deluge guns. Most apparatus-mounted deluge guns can be directed by a single firefighter, compared to a standard fire hose which normally requires several. Deluge guns can be automatically positioned f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
