WE NEED ICE - Explosion on the Railroad

Don Cole was the Kingman, AZ journalist who was at the site of the BLEVE in ‘73, on an assignment for what he thought was to report on the tanker fire that had erupted due to a gas leak near the DOXOL plant. But, then the BLEVE occurred just as Don was arriving to the scene, and as a civilian, Don ended up jumping into one of the rescue vehicles (that wasn’t yet completely engulfed in flames) and made several trips to and from the hospital transporting the burned and gravely injured men from the explosion site. 

Don Cole has since passed away. But my guests today are his dear wife, Gloria Cole and his sweet daughter, Mary Stock. They’re going to help me build on Don’s legacy and share some of their experiences from the time period of the 1973 Kingman Arizona BLEVE. 

Visit this podcast's website at WENEEDICE.COM for more on the 1973 Kingman, Arizona BLEVE.

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Welcome back to We Need Ice Explosion on the railroad. We’re picking up with part 2 featuring The Volunteer Fire Fighter Podcast. The guys and I get a little deeper into the mental health aspect of fighting fires - what they see on duty and how they handle the stress. In 1973, the Kingman BLEVE Responders did not DEAL with their trauma due to the stigma against mental illness and even public opinion around men’s emotions. You don’t want to miss this open conversation and testament to how far we’ve come since “the good ole days.”

Visit this podcast's website at WENEEDICE.COM for more on the 1973 Kingman, Arizona BLEVE.

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In this episode, I collaborate with The Volunteer Fire Fighter Podcast hosts  to discuss their responsibilities as active volunteer fireman and how their volunteerism gives them a connection to the ’73 Kingman BLEVE. The guys get into with me about courage, fear, PTSD and some of the most memorable calls they’ve responded to including a potential BLEVE situation. How did they handle that? You’re about to find out in Part 1 of this 2-Parter episode.

And, if you’re a returning listener of the We Need Ice Podcast, you know every episode has begun with a rather explicit disclaimer. I’m going to skip that today so we can jump into the interview with the guys, but just know, we’re still talking around a heavy topic. Make sure to visit weneedice.com for more info, resources, images, articles ect., around the amazing true story of the 1973 BLEVE in Kingman, Arizona. 

Visit this podcast's website at WENEEDICE.COM for more on the 1973 Kingman, Arizona BLEVE.

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A young man is riding his dirt bike to a job interview when he catches sight of the drama unfolding along the railroad. His curiosity peaks and he regretfully joins the crowd observing the hissing railcar on fire.

Get to know Screenplay Writer and former Kingman, AZ resident, Theresa Rounseville, whose family was entrenched in the 1973 BLEVE chaos. With her father as the Medical Examiner at the Mohave County Hospital and her brother a bystander and victim of the explosion, there’s no questioning Theresa’s interest in the events and outcome of the Doxol Disaster.

Join the conversation as we discuss what motivated Theresa to tell the story of the 1973 Kingman BLEVE through a screenplay adaptation and how her family fared during and after the deadly explosion.

Visit this podcast's website at WENEEDICE.COM for more on the 1973 Kingman, Arizona BLEVE.

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In Part 2 of retired Kingman Police Officer Don Martin's witness he account,  we make amazing connections between his story and the story I tell in episodes 1-7. It’s more proof that bringing this event to light is worth every, sometimes painstaking, minute.

We also discuss the PTSD many survivors were affected by due to this 1973 tragedy and are still carrying around to this day. Back then, as Don confirms, "No one talked about this stuff. You just tried to forget it." But there’s a major catch-22 in doing so, because we don’t want to forget those that died or survived protecting their community in 1973.

Finally, we remember the Kingman Police Department and their heroism which was on display on July 5th, 1973, but often takes a backseat to the efforts of the firefighters.

Visit this podcast's website at WENEEDICE.COM for more on the 1973 Kingman, Arizona BLEVE.

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You didn’t think the podcast was over did you? Today, you’ll hear from one witness, Kingman resident, and retiree of the Kingman Police Department, Don Martin, who was on duty on July 5th. 

Don refers to July 5th, 1973 as, "A Day He Will Never Forget," and maintains that it was the most horrific event he'd ever experienced despite his past in the military where he witnessed atrocities from deadly truck accidents and homicides to helicopter crashes with multiple fatalities.

Candidly, Don recites his memories from the ’73 Kingman BLEVE as an active-duty police officer, from the moment the tank car exploded, to stumbling upon and rescuing his injured friend and fellow officer who was literally, ON FIRE, in shock, smoke coming off of his body, limbs and extremities burned.

Visit this podcast's website at WENEEDICE.COM for more on the 1973 Kingman, Arizona BLEVE.

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Join me on a stroll through Firefighters Memorial Park, a vital part of Kingman’s touristry, where the largest firefighter disaster in Arizona’s history is now commemorated.

In this finale episode, I have my own memorial dedication to conduct, paying respects to the 12 men who gave the ultimate sacrifice and lost their lives to the Kingman Bleve nearly 50 years ago. Gone but not forgotten.

I’d like to request, and if you’re so inclined, that you close your eyes for this closing segment of the We Need Ice podcast. Take it all in as we honor each of the ’73 BLEVE casualties, individually, with a brief but poignant tribute to their lives, commitments to their community, and those they left behind.

Visit this podcast's website at WENEEDICE.COM for more on the 1973 Kingman, Arizona BLEVE.

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If necessity is the mother of invention, then mass casualties are the catalyst of reinvention. If anything positive was going to come out of this disaster, it was going to be improving practices for managing such events in order to avoid repeating history.

9-11 has been brought up, more than once, with witness accounts of the Kingman Bleve. After September 11, 2001, changes were employed for safer air travel. Similarly, the 1973 Kingman BLEVE influenced protocols for transporting liquid gas, firefighting, and handling explosions worldwide. 

The procedural modifications implemented because of the Kingman BLEVE were necessary alterations put in place to save lives.

Visit this podcast's website at WENEEDICE.COM for more on the 1973 Kingman, Arizona BLEVE.

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Amongst the scandals, crime and natural disasters occurring and being packaged in today’s news stories, editorials and talk shows for public review, there’s always the 64-thousand-dollar question: Who is at fault? Someone has to pay, and especially when lives are lost.

Video footage surfaces showing the town of Kingman post BLEVE of 1973 - Doxol branded trucks and gas storage tanks parked on the industrial plant’s property, giant pieces of metal shrapnel from the exploding tanker block Route 66, and dilapidated structures which were just moments before standing strong, like the Philips gas station, reveal what looks like a ghost town.

Kingman is searching for answers, and the Doxol Propane company begins to take questions.

Visit this podcast's website at WENEEDICE.COM for more on the 1973 Kingman, Arizona BLEVE.

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The death toll rises each day for the small town of Kingman, Arizona in the weeks following July 5, 1973.

Witness and hospital volunteer, “K,” remembers how fellow Kingman residents stepped up to care for the children of those families whose head-of-households were either injured or deceased.  She engages in one of the hardest conversations of her life, when the young daughter of a burned firefighter innocently repeats what she’s hearing from her peers. “Someone said my Daddy’s a DEAD MAN. K my Daddy is NOT a DEAD MAN right?”

Despite the tragedy, turmoil and tears, the town of Kingman will triumph as they ban together to honor those lost and share in recovery efforts inspiring courage and community.

Visit this podcast's website at WENEEDICE.COM for more on the 1973 Kingman, Arizona BLEVE.

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