Every fire department in America learns about what happened in Kingman, Arizona on July 5, 1973. It was over 100 degrees that afternoon. At the Doxol Gas plant, workers were transferring propane from a railroad tank car into storage tanks when a leak developed and caught fire. Burning propane shot as high as 80 feet into the air. Kingman firefighters got the call at 1:57 PM and arrived within minutes. They pulled lines and poured water onto the tank car, trying to keep it cool and reduce the pressure inside. At the time, that was the procedure. Then, about 20 minutes after the initial call, the tank exploded. It was what firefighters now call a BLEVE, a boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion. The blast sent burning debris and pieces of the rail car flying across the area. Three firefighters lost their lives immediately. Eight more firefighters passed away from their injuries over the following week. A plant worker also lost his life, and more than 95 firefighters, police offi...