January 31, 1975

The biggest fire in Philadelphia history happened on this day in history, at the Monsanto chemical docks of the Delaware River in Marcus Hook. The Corinthos, a 754 foot oil tanker vessel with capacity for 400,000 barrels of crude oil, quietly sat docked at its moorings at Marcus Hook filled with approximately 300,000 barrels of oil. Across the river at the New Jersey docks sat specialty chemical tanker, Edgar M. Queeny with over 250,000 barrels onboard.

The Queeny tanker needed to turn to head upstream, and the captain felt confident enough that he could complete this maneuver without the assistance of a nearby tug boat. Subsequently, the Queeny headed across the river and slammed directly into the Corinthos, exploding into a blazing heap. This great fire caused over 25 sailors and dockworkers to perish and/or greatly burned.

The blast continued to burn for more than 4 days, evacuating over 350 residents from their homes.

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