Free Web NovelChapter 785: Chapter 511 Facing Dalian 716_2
"Don’t panic! In recent years, many construction units have been developing Dagushan Island! Management has been somewhat chaotic, so it’s possible that this is related to blasting operations, and the person who called the police might not be clear, mistaking it for a tank explosion!"
"Here’s what you’ll do, first call the Command Center and ask if other Squadrons from our Big Team are on the way! According to the contingency plan, just have them direct the other two Squadrons to deploy and assist with water supply!"
As he spoke, he still held the dispatch order in his hand and raised his voice to the soldiers behind him, then pointed to one of the fire extinguishing precautions listed on it:
"Look, the experts who made the command dispatch system have considered everything, crude oil fire, the best foam proportion is 3%! With our two tons of foam, how much water can we produce? As long as we have enough water, isn’t a fire absolutely manageable?"
Hearing this, the Communication Officer next to him also carefully looked at the dispatch order, pointing to the following item, saying:
"Instructor, it mentions here ’running fire’. Look below, there’s even a safety coefficient table for different foam proportions! If it’s a tank fire, we need to increase the proportion! It’s written here... recommended... to increase to 6%, or up to 9% depending on the concentration."
The Instructor glanced at him, then waved his hand, saying:
"What’s the matter with 6%? With the new high-pressure spray we just got, wouldn’t sixteen or seventeen tons of foam be enough to extinguish it? If there really is a fire, here comes our chance for commendation! We can’t let others take it!"
The Communication Officer, seeing the fierce look in the Instructor’s eyes, immediately fell silent.
Now, the expressions of the other soldiers in the vehicle relaxed a bit, and smiles appeared.
"Right! This is our chance for commendation!"
...
PM, 18:18.
The straight-line distance of 2.7 kilometers, the actual road about 7 kilometers plus.
The fire truck, gradually turning into the port area, brought an increasingly broad perspective of the fire scenario into view.
The firefighters in the five vehicles were seeing the rapid rate of fire spread for the first time in their lives.
Three to four hundred meters away, thick smoke billowed and a huge flame, as if alive, rapidly spread from pipelines and valves toward a large oil tank. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
This tank, referred to as just a ’tank’, had an oil capacity of about 100,000 tons.
Being 22 meters high and with a diameter of 80 meters, it stood tall like an imposing figure of seven to eight stories high.
The intense sense of danger was so overwhelming that the firefighting vehicles couldn’t help but stop.
In a panic, the Instructor’s mind went numb for two seconds, uncertain whether to advance or retreat. After a struggle between duty and instinct, he quickly picked up the two-way radio at hand, his voice trembling slightly as he roared:
"Keep moving! Stop 150 meters ahead! Everyone off the vehicle, right now! Deploy quickly, coordinate with the high-pressure spray, and first suppress the fire heading toward the tank area as quickly as possible!"
The once-smiling Instructor was nowhere to be seen.
Having given the order, he quickly picked up his cell phone while the vehicles hesitantly moved forward slowly, to call the Command Center.
"Command Center? Call for reinforcements! Call for reinforcements fast!"
"Reinforcements on the way? No, that’s not what I mean! I’m telling you to call for reinforcements! Contact the Regimental commander immediately! Call for support from the whole corps!"
As he spoke, the Instructor, phone still to his ear, saw the fire’s rapid changes up front and quickly picked up the two-way radio again, urgently saying:
"Retreat, retreat, retreat! All vehicles move back!!"
In just over half a minute, they had lost all chances to contain the fire from reaching the tank area.
The race against the fire, just half a minute, had already declared the Fire Brigade’s defeat.
The fire had arrived.
The tank area, seemingly already compromised internally, put up almost no resistance as a thirty to forty-meter high wave of fire erupted.
And it was spreading rapidly to the surroundings.
Due to ruptured pipelines, the periphery of four tank areas, separated by a few dozen meters, now showed clear signs of crude oil leakage with running fires, and valve stations, metering rooms, transformer substations, and firefighting valves were all ablaze.
There was no longer any chance to stop the fire.
Swallowing incessantly, the Instructor’s confidence shattered by the scene before him, he made such a judgment.
This blaze was clearly beyond the control of ordinary water guns.
And it would take at least seven or eight minutes to set up the high-pressure spray.
He watched the running fire, which was gathering toward the lower areas of several tank yards along the North Fire Lane on the ground, momentarily unsure of where to safely position the firefighting defense.
There was no safe range.
Now their task had changed, extinguishing the blaze in the tank yard was beyond their capabilities. If they could prevent the fire from spreading to other hazardous areas, that would be fortunate.
The drivers of several vehicles were no fools, quickly reversing to find another route in, when, at that moment, the voice from the phone in his hand seemed to be shouting loudly.
The Instructor picked up the phone, not caring what the other side was saying, and almost spat into the receiver:
"Command Center, request reinforcements at maximum speed!!
A 100,000-ton tank has caught fire! Running fire is spreading everywhere! And one path is heading straight for the South Sea Tank Area! My Squadron can hold out, at most, for fifteen minutes!
Call all the Special Duty assault teams from the city, high-pressure sprays, foam, water supply, everything to the scene! That’s it! Quick!"
"Everyone, get off and set up the water gun defense 100 meters ahead to stop the running fire coming our way!!"
...
"Ring...."
"Ring...."
At the Command Center at 8:20 PM, the four on-duty non-commissioned officers were not paying attention to the alarm phones ringing in front of them, but were holding their cell phones and urgently reporting the current situation to the main leaders of the Regiment.
"Regimental commander! I am the Command Center duty officer...."
"Political Commissar! This is Wei Xiaolu from the Command Center! Dalian Xingang Tank No.103 has just caught fire! Dagushan Squadron is calling for help!"
