“Follow me!” he yelled, removing one more from the apparatus and starting to run toward the truck road. The others raced along behind him.
“We’ve got to keep the flames away from the tank trucks!” Tom cried. “If the loaded ones blow up, we’re done for!”
In the flickering light of the flames that seemed almost to touch the vehicles, the three could see a pumping engine working frantically in the area ignited by the exploding tanks. The truck drivers, who had fled to temporary safety, now returned to assist in quenching the flames.
Tom, Bud, and Hank ran toward three giant trucks which were dangerously exposed to the terrific heat of the spreading fire.
“You take the first one!” Tom yelled to Hank. “Bud and I will take the others!”
A hundred yards beyond, both sides of a second vehicle were threatened by flames. Bud leaped into the cab, and with Tom hanging on, drove the truck forward another hundred yards, ending the immediate danger.
Tom jumped off and ran to the last truck that had just left the storage tanks when the explosion occurred. Only seconds remained in which to save it, because a blob of napalm had fallen on the hood from which the fire threatened to engulf the cab.
The guard at the storage tanks had stuck to his The crew leaped into action, shooting chemicals SEALED INSTRUMENTS
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post and a heavy spray was sweeping over the entire section, dousing the fuel containers with fire-fighting chemical. But should the truck explode, flying pieces of metal from it could pierce a tank like shrapnel and release the highly inflammable contents.