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Article: The day Texas City lost its fire department: 60th anniversary of cargo ship explosion that killed 27 firefighters.(HAZMAT STUDIES)(ammonium nitrate)
- Article from:
- Firehouse Magazine
- Article date:
- May 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Cygnus Business Media. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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April 16, 1947, started out like any other spring day along the Gulf Coast in the town of Texas City, TX, population 16,000. Longshoremen busily loaded ships at the Port of Texas City and other townspeople went about their daily activities. The cargo ship Grandcamp was at the port taking on a load of ammonium nitrate fertilizer to be shipped to Europe as part of the rebuilding process following World War II.
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Initially, the Grandcamp was scheduled to load the ammonium nitrate cargo at the Port of Houston. However, ammonium nitrate is not permitted to be handled at Houston, so transported to Texas City by rail from Nebraska and ...