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| Photo: Fire Engineering |
Eight people - including two other firefighters - were injured.
The blaze burned unchecked for five hours.
"Black, greasy smoke rose hundreds of feet into the air" and "was visible as far away as Manhattan, 25 miles to the north," the Associated Press reported.
"The first explosion let go at 2 p.m., and fire spread rapidly to adjoining stills and storage tanks," the AP said. "Then a 10,000 gallon asphalt tank blew 50 feet into the air, spewing its blazing contents."
Citing Second Assistant Fire Chief Alex Pietraska of Perth Amboy, the magazine Fire Engineering reported:
"When firemen arrived at the plant it looked as though a bomb had dropped on it. Hair and eyebrows were singed as the men hooked up lines and advanced through slime and melted tar to reach what appeared to be the center of the fire.
"Adams and Dumbach were on a foam nozzle, about five feet ahead of Howard Adam's brother, Harry. The Chief was about, five or ten feet behind Harry and both were lighting up the line for the men at the pipe.
"The first two men got in between two tanks which were described as steaming, spitting and whistling and they trained their stream on the center of the fire. Suddenly there was a whine like the noise associated with the dropping of a bomb.
"Chief Pietraska yelled to the men to get back, as it looked as if a tank was going to blow. As the chief and men began to run, there came a terrific blast, which caught the two nearest men. Howard Adams and Dumbach were thrown into a three-foot deep pit filled with molten asphalt and burned to death."
Dambach was the father of four and Adams had a 6-year-old son, the AP said.
