The fire had been blazing for three days. It was still uncontrollable. All the available fire trucks were exhausted. Everyone in the town of Bleakville was too tired to fight anymore.
The fire was in a warehouse of gasoline and oil products. The company that owned the building was the Gaso Company. All of the upper two floors of the building were burned, and the rest of the building was threatened. The oil was burning at the present time, with the gasoline being threatened.
Governor John Bartlow received a note from the Mayor of Bleakville urging him to send federal troops. The note said, "Our town is on the brink of disaster. It is doubtful that we will be able to keep the fire isolated. We need your help." The governor sent his aides to the National Guard Armory to look for volunteers. Most of the Guard were at the local college trying to restore order. The Guard commander told the aides that he could spare ten of his men. So, the ten men were sent to Bleakville.
By this time, the fire had gotten worse. The first explosion of gasoline occurred at 3:54 P.M. The Guard arrived at 4:03 P.M. They tried water, carbon dioxide, and sand. Nothing could stop it. Another building started to burn. This building was the warehouse for a gunpowder company. A preacher told everybody to pray for floods, because that was what it would take to put out the fire. All of the senior citizens were down on their knees. They yelled, "Oh, sweet Jesus, please help us!" They chanted this many times, always looking upward. Suddenly, the crowd heard a thunderous roar. The dam, holding back the mightiest river in the entire state, broke. Water flowed down into the town. People had to get on the tops of their houses, but the fire was out. The Red Cross was called in to help the town. Now, the town has their own lake. Bleakville was proclaimed "The Water Capital of the World". All their worries were over.
No comments:
Post a Comment