Narrator: No other fire in the city's history has claime the lives of more firefighters.

This is the stor of the gasoline tanker explosion on Toledo' Anthony Wayne Trail, June 10th, 1961.

Man: What greeted us was a huge plume of black, smelly, oily foam about 500ft in the air.

And I said, oh, boy, are we in for it.

It was a roar.

Man: I mean, it was just a huge roaring fire going.

And the flames were shooting out and, Tons of smoke.

Billowing black smoke.

Man: We heard the explosions at first, and that was the tires that were burning.

And then all of a sudden, it's just like a huge vroom whoosh and up, up it went.

Man: It was one of the worst things I think I've ever witnessed in any fire scene.

Man: Basically, they were spraying water on this tanker knowing that, that was fire all around it.

My understanding is that a safety valve i one of the compartments failed.

And that's what led to the explosion.

Narrator: No other fire in the city's history has claimed the lives of more firefighters than the gasoline tanker explosion on the Anthony Wayne Trail.

June 10th, 1961.

Deputy Chief Walt Bodie veterans Glen Carter, William Jensen and Robert Harrison would all pass in the days and months following the inferno.

69 total fireme dispatched on the three alarms.

80 people would ultimately b injured, including 38 children.

Three severely and 12 firemen.

Only five are alive today.

June 10th, 1961 was a Saturday morning.

By all accounts, a pristine day, mostly in the city's 22 fire stations.

It was cleanup day.

Don Riddle: I got up, got ready for work, said goodbye to my wife and my six month old daughter, and proceeded down to fire station number five which was on Broadway at Logan.

Narrator: At 10:30 a.m. in a sandlo baseball diamond near the trail.

Players heard a crunch and a thud.

My truck on the trail was soon enveloped in black smoke.

Box alarm 223 at Erie and Logan would wake up the city at 10:56 a.m.. Don Riddle: Fire at Anthony Wayne Trail and Logan Street, which was about a quarter of a mile down the street from us.

Narrator: Deputy Chief Wal Bodie would arrive at 10:58 a.m. with pumpers five and eight.

Ladder one and number one rescue squad 19 men responded to the initial call.

Five was actually doing a rope drill at Logan and Broadway involvin the rookie fireman, Don Riddell, who is tyin knots with captain Tom Alfieri.

Don Riddle: I was scared coming out of the fire station and seeing that for the first time, me being a rookie, I just followed my captain' orders as all I could do then.

I put fear on the back burner because I thought, could a plane have crashed there and there might be people running around or dead?

So I thought I got to put that in the back of my mind and pay attention to my job.

And if I have to star saving lives or helping people, that are on fire, I'll do that.

A lot of people came running up and said, it's a tank.

Trucks.

Ohio jackknifed around, but it hadn't exploded yet.

It was leaking gas right into the sewers, and it was spread out all over the both both lanes of the trail or closed.

There was so much fire and smoke.

The pumper stopped and I got off the back.

I was going to, get behind, Hose Man and back him up.

And our idea was to get wate on that one that hadn't exploded and cool it off.

Narrator: Pumper nine one, two ladders, 1 in 7.

Rescue number six and number six.

A district chief were dispatched by 11 a.m.. Engine number eight was stretching a 2.5in line into position.

Coming up the trail, looking face on at the cab and first trailer in the direction it was traveling.

They joined Five's line hooked up on Vinton Street, running uphill the same direction along Logan Street.

At the Cross Street, Vinton, number nine pumpers sat in position, the first to arrive of the second alarm at 11:03 a.m., Bodie instructed his driver, Jack Ryan, to run back to H and to tell them to turn on the water.

Bodie had John Rep, who would become curator of the Toledo Firefighter Museum, to check on a pumper that was headed to the scene and to help those firefighters lay down hose.

The chief's instructions save their lives, according to rep. All companies were looking at a 5% grade incline without the vantag many onlookers had at the rear, especially those standing on the Nickel Plate Bridge.

Don Riddell and Rolan Henning were trying to get water from valves lin on the first tank in the tandem.

Lieutenant Taylor Perkin Russo on Ed's line and recalled he could see the kinks star to straighten as it approached the nozzle, but he wouldn't spray a drop.

Don Riddle: It just went off in our faces.

Narrator: The first line was attempting to engage when the soun hit them first, then the heat.

The blast rippled.

A scorching, radiant heat fell for a full two blocks in all directions.

Don Riddle: Just like being cooked in an oven.

I was blown out of my boots.

I ran so hard to get away from it.

Narrator A man was filming his backyard get together with a super eight millimeter camera.

The footage only goes so far because the man set his camera down in order to aid the victims.

All that smoke defies description, even from afar.

But on the ground going into it.

That is the job of the firefighter.

The men only knew it was a gasoline tanker.

Stay away from the EMS.

They knew what they didn't know was where the ends actually were.

Under all that smoke.

In addition, obstacles and terrain prevented working the fir from almost any other approach.

A patrolman said it was the closest thing to an air raid he could imagine.

The main explosion went through the forward end of the front tanker, flattening the cab entirely.

As the second trailer unit slid on its side, passing the cab and first Tyger spill occurred through the vent, ignited by friction generated heat and sparks burning gasoline ran down grade 4000 gallons of the nearly 8000 meter bumper on Vinton Street to lay a line, declared Chief Bodie.

And half of you pull hoses toward the tanker.

We've got to cooler down, he said.

Firefighters struggled to get those hose lines in the operation as firefighters carried equipment for blocks to hook up hoses.

And at the same time to keep back curious bystanders, the number of which had mounted significantly because the skyscraper of smoke could be seen from around the city.

Larry Morehead: When I walke up, there were loads of people, loads of people and it's a wonder that they didn't get hurt, went and exploded, but it exploded out the other en and it exploded the other way.

There would have been more casualties.

I'm sure.

Narrator: A common practic by firemen at the time in summer was to pull the wool linin out of the rubberized overcoats.

Roland Henning said he could smell the rubber on their coats melting, and could hear the gasoline boiling in the tanker.

All I could see was orange as I ran, he said.

Everything near became a torch, including trees and people.

Larry Morehead: There were trees, big trees.

They were all on fire and running down the curb and the gutter was fires.

There was gasoline running down.

Narrator: Firefighting was briefly abandoned.

In favor of survival is responders tore clothing from themselves and others civilians and firefighters alike pulled the firemen away after the blast.

Often on fire themselves, it was described as an ignited gel.

At 11:07 a.m., Chief Arnold Hagan arrived and declared the scene an emergency, alerting the city of Toledo and hospitals.

A third alarm was sounded at 11:08 a.m.. Larry Morehead: And that's when our pumper, number seven pumper, responded.

We got there on third alarm after the explosion.

Narrator: The explosion created a wake of panic, but the roiling heat gave way to roiling crowds.

When Bob blac arrived with force, their unit had to park six blocks away.

Forest Black: There were stil a lot of people milling around.

When we first got there, it was hard to even get down to the to the scene because of all the people and cars and stuff that was in the way.

And we were sitting there and all of a sudden heard this explosion and didn't know what it was.

And then, we heard another one and turn the TV on and they said there was a trail fire.

So I had no fire clothes there, but I had my fatigues from the Army, an I figured I could go down there and maybe do some footwor and run around and get the guys.

If they needed something, I could run back to the truck and get it for them.

And I really was shocked when I went around the corner and I saw the mess.

Narrator: The explosion ignite four frame dwellings on Vinton, which would be lost 612, 618, 620 and 624.

Vinton all lost.

Forrest Black: Bob Noonan was our captain.

We were with him and Joe Tavenner.

Bob Hall, Dom was in the attic.

All the five of us were al working together in the houses.

Larry Morehead: And there were some smaller homes off on the other side, and I ended up helping to put those fires out.

Mike Moeller: My godfather was the captai of five engine House, Tom ferry.

But prior to me getting on the job, I had chased the fire engines for years and took a lot of pictures.

And I had a radio in my.

Car.

And I heard that fire alarm come in, and from there I walked back and walked across the railroad tracks, the old Nickel Plat railroad tracks of that trestle.

And that's where I took this picture.

I decided that when I ran, I feel my walk around.

So I walked back across the railroad tracks and down Hamilton and back.

And when I came around, they were starting to load people and ambulances, and I saw UConn's football helmet sitting in the street, and I said, oh, this is not good.

Narrator: The blast destroyed trees, wire poles, and even the stretch of pavement on which the gasoline burned.

Harold Brandman was a copy clerk at the Toledo Blade.

He had just stopped his car on Logan Street and the trail when he heard a loud, scraping sound.

Brandman backed his car out of block, then ran to the scene of the first fire truck about 200 yards from the fire itself, with a second tanker blew.

He ran to help, using his pocket knife to cut fireme free from the inflamed clothing.

Charles Burns, a 21 year veteran of the fire division, had just arrived with minds when the whole thing blew.

He grabbed Robert Harrison an gave this account to the blade.

I carried him about a half block off the trail.

His pants were burned completely off.

Skin was hanging from his leg and his face was a mess.

Someone came and helped me and we got his coat off.

I use my hands in grass inside to beat out the flames, and also my coat to wrap around him.

Believe me, I was scared.

Forest Black: The scene after we in, I was starting to cool down.

We could see things that happened more and that was the most horrible thing I think I've ever seen in my life.

Narrator: The shortest explanation is that the following traile jackknifed ahead of the tractor and first tanker tipping and igniting from friction.

But the National Fire Protection Association with the Toledo Fire Prevention Bureau summarized the important elements of this tragic incident in greater detail.

The truck was traveling on a downgrade right hand curb when the tanker overturned, breaking all connections between it and the semi.

The Volvo tanke came to a stop ahead of the cab and a severe fire immediately broke out.

The front tanker's brakes locked up by design as soon as the rear tanker became uncoupled.

In fact, the tractor and front tanke remained connected and pointed in the original direction of travel.

Witnesses say the followed tanker appeared to tip slowly only which left side.

As the unit moved around.

The car.

As it hit, the hitch and brake hoses were snap, giving the followed tanker enoug speed to pass the halting semi, ultimately sliding on its side to a position forward and to the left of the tractor.

There was no technical failure of equipment, according to the NFPA.

The hitch was broken as the tanker turned over.

There is good evidence that the second tanker struck the left front corner of the semi first tag or as it slid forward.

It is believed the damaged front and the fact that the fire from the spill and boil over was so intense created the pressure that could not be sufficiently relieved through the vent, causing it the ultimate failure when it breached.

This caused a blowtorch action that shot in an easterly direction down the trail, fanning out and flattening the cab of the truck.

It burned hottes and most dangerously, for just 15 minutes.

The fire was officially tagged at 1:12 p.m.. All units were back in service by 7:30 p.m..

The Anthony Wayne Trail has matured from a scarred patch of dirt into a high wave feeder road, and embossed smooth merg straight into downtown Toledo.

It was developed slowl over the 20th century, initially replacing the canal system as the conduit of commerce.

As South Southa grew and Miami and Waterville, the desire for improving the road's functionality overwhelmed its actuality for many decades.

Some might even say that's still the case.

Plans for the removal of the curb that would cause the trail fire of 61 existed.

Plans were hastened after, but not before the curve would claim several similar accidents.

The physics of the original curve into downtown on the Anthony Wayne Trail were bound to fail catastrophically.

Eventually, it had doomed truckers and motorists before and after June 10th, 1961.

Unfortunately, Lucille hired truck driven by Edward Bauer would become the crisis that changed the roadway.

Estimates of the Skidmarks by Toledo patrolman indicated he took the turn at approximately 35 to 40mph.

The common speed of travel along the trail before this curve, although the posted speed limit signs were 25mph.

The blade reporte that Ansel Davis event in Street heard a loud rattle, the looked outside to see the truck stopped crooked in the stree and the driver looking under it, then sprinting away as the flames began to grow.

It was reported that Bo is likely the perso who pulled the box alarm.

223.

After the explosion, bam ran into the scene to help and suffere serious injuries.

As a result.

He was acquitted.

In November of 1961, a court ruling that the traitor connection snapped no as a result of any driver error, which contradicted an August 1961 report by the National Fire Protection Association.

At the time, it was not believed tanke trucks like this could explode.

Boom, and firefighters may have felt a false sense of security about being near the burning tanker.

Only four days after the accident, a bill was introduced to the Ohio Senate that ultimately banne the use of tandem tanker trucks.

Even the trail would wear a scar as the pavement underneath the boiling gas would be replaced, leaving a two tone reminder on the roadway.

Until its modernization.

Eight first responding firefighters received burns that would scar them for life and had them battling in hospitals for months.

It is widely believed thousands gathered at various times to watch.

Forrest Black: And that overpass was lined shoulder to shoulder with people and children.

Narrator: That no civilian casualties incurred is testament to the firefighters who responded to that blaze.

Forest Black: That was horrible.

It was horrific.

You can't even tell.

You see, there's stuf laying around on the ground.

It you know, it's looking pretty good because you knew there was somebody was was hurt bad, but you didn't know who it was or where they were and how bad it was until afterwards.

Narrator: Most of the first alarm is silent.

Firefighters were knocked out of action.

Seriously burned were Deputy chief body captain Tom Alfieri, Private Robert Harrison, Glenn Carter, Roland Hanning Yuka Sperber and Donald Riddle.

All of company number five Ollie Mullen, Frank Keating, Lieutenant Taylor Perkins didn't firema Howard Anderson of Pumper eight and Private William Jensen of rescue number one.

Don Riddle: My face was exposed.

I have got burns on my ears, my eyelids, because I had my eyes closed, thank God, and on my hands I didn't have gloves on.

My eyes had swelled shut and all of a sudde a guy ran up to me and he said, Danny, Danny, are you okay?

And my God, it was my brother.

As soon as he called Danny, I knew it was.

I knew it was Jim.

You heard about the fire and you came to the scene because he knew I was working that day.

He helped me.

Help me.

He saved my life.

Narrator: All available private and police ambulances were called to the scene.

Dan Riddle had 17 operations to restore his face and ears.

Don Riddle: I was in the hospital, I believe, for three weeks.

My plastic surgeons worked on me probably on a period of two years.

This was a this is a minor release to go back to duty after all my surgeries.

Forest Black: I think it drew us, my crew closer together.

You know me, you you kind of looked out for each other more so when you went into a fire.

And I think it just was in th back of your head all the time.

What was going to happen or could happen to us?

Narator: Most of the available ambulances were used, and the area hospitals tried to split the load on their emergency rooms.

The critically injured.

Most of the men were consciou when they arrived at hospitals.

Some walked into the emergency rooms.

Fireman Robert Harrison said I'll try to stand while you cut my clothes off, but I think I'm going to pass out, so hurry.

As a result of this tragedy, Saint V's will develop its burn victim unit, becoming a technological marvel for the time.

Firefighters Robert Harrison, Glenn Carter William Jensen and Deputy Chief Wold both died from burns received in the fire.

But first was Robert Harrison.

Badge number 290.

Driver of hook and ladder number five.

He wore his coat and helmet, but not boots, resulting in severe burns on his legs.

A 40 year veteran died June 15th at Mercy Hospital.

Glenn Carter, badge number 246.

As he was being overtaken by his injuries in Miami Valley Hospital on June 23rd, his daughter was born on th same day on a different floor.

The blade quoted his wife Barbara Ann, saying at the time she specifically chos the hospital to be close to him.

Chief, you old body.

He just 20ft from the explosion, was sprayed directly by the river of hell, wearing only desk clothes.

Chief Bodie, a fireman since 1925, was the first man injured, but the last to perish.

Battling in Saint Vincent's Hospital for six weeks until passing on July 28th.

Bill Jensen, badge number 435.

A 13 yea veteran of many talents outside of firefighting, died at Mercy Hospital on July 10th.

Bill Genson: During the World War Two, he was in the army in the Medical Corps, and he made false teeth of all things.

And he actually met Eisenhower when he was there.

Rick Genson: I know that on the day of the fire, I was out in the side yard and a picnic, and I was aware of the fire.

I saw the smoke and wanted to go see it.

He, left his station in the rescue squad to assist another firefighter who passed away.

His name was Harris and he was trying to hold this hose along and know gasoline was flying through the air.

It burns over the field where peopl were running away from the fire.

Given the nature of his burns, he was engulfed in flame.

Bill Genson: Eventually, he died from ulcers, bleeding ulcers, and every organ in his body I've given up.

I actually heard one of the doctors say, Bill, that you just got to give up, you know, but he would not do that.

He said he wanted to live.

Narrator: Lawsuits followed from survivors and the families of victims.

Initial responses from Ohio have not aged well.

Bill Genson: And there was a person that came up to me, and it turns out that he was playing baseball that day, very near where the truck exploded.

He got severely burned out of those bags.

He was in the hospital, and he told me they were sending him home to die.

And as Standard Oil came to him.

They offered hi a baseball, a bat and a glove.

And his mother said, no way.

Narrator: Raymond Mercurio 13 at the time, received $300, which he used to buy the drum set that would launch his lifelong career in music.

The widows, who before lost firemen, broke ground on June 10th, 1962 for a memorial statue.

An annual ceremony at Chubb, DeWolf Park.

Today, the original intention could be seen in the white torch, now adorned with the initials for Toledo Fire and Rescue Division and the names of every man lost.

The annual remembrance ceremony is for all firefighters lost or injured.

Rick Genson: Then there's a bell ringing during the service where they ring a bell one time for each firefighter who has passed away.

And that was heart wrenching.

It is always the second Friday in June to honor Toledo firefighters.

Deadliest fire event the trail fire of June 10th, 1961.