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That story brought back a childhood memory that was similar to the Hancock fire. I lived a block away from a ROCO (Radio Oil) refinery and went to a school kitty corner to the same refinery. It was a known fire hazard, having had a few fires already. I was in grade 3 (1962) when it went up in flames, and through most of the fire, we stayed in school. That is until a large tank full of gas was finally in jeopardy. Then the people in charge said, "What about the kids?" We assumed the cold war position for a nuclear bomb, tucked under the desk. Futile, I know, but it was the fail-safe move of the time. I guess they thought the big church between us and the fire would keep us safe. That and a lot of praying.
Finally, someone thought to evacuate us from the school by walking us out the back door and away through the school grounds. The tank never blew, and the fire was contained. The ROCO refinery was shut down. It was considered contaminated and was unused except as a storage facility. In 1978, ROCO was sold to Husky.
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