Reader’s Digest
86 february 2020
sound of expanding metal. When the
eerie sound came again, it raised the
hair on the back of Royd’s neck. I’ll
be damned, he thought. It’s coming
from the tanker. Shielding his eyes,
Royd peered into the glare, but saw
only a f laming wall 50 metres high.
Then, for a split second, the f lames
parted. From beneath the trailer he
saw something wav-
ing. It was the hand of
a child.
“Cover me!” Royd
shouted. He dropped his
hose and ran straight
into the inferno.F
or 10 minutes little
Shirley had been
slowly roasting in
a sea of fire. It’s hope-
less, she told herself, No
one can hear me in here.
Giddy with pain and petrol fumes, she
felt her mind begin to drift and sud-
denly saw a vivid image of her grandfa-
ther and grand-uncle—both of whom
had died years before. They are guar-
dian angels now, she thought. They’ll
be watching over me. The idea gave her
new strength. Straining to see through
the wall of fire, Shirley glimpsed mo-
ving figures, I’ve got to let them know
I’m here! Mustering every ounce of
strength, she screamed louder than she
had ever done in her life.
As Royd neared the flames, the heat
hit him like a physical blow, stinging
his face through his visor. Shieldingshooting flames 100 metres into the
air. Petrol poured from holes and relief
valves into a widening lake and a river
of fire raced down the road into storm-
water drains.
Only a few metres away were 550
other potential fires—the cars in the
crowded car park.
Within minutes of blowing up, a
great fuel/air vapour
conflagration—known
to firefighters as BLEVE
(Boiling Liquid Ex-
panding Vapour Ex-
plosion), reaches out
for hundreds of metres
and incinerates any-
thing in its path. Only
100 metres from the
burning tanker was the
mall, packed with al-
most 20,000 late-night
shoppers.
More fire crews arrived. “Concen-
trate on pushing the f lames away
from that tanker!” ordered divisional
officer Ray Warby, who had arrived
to take control. As if to underline his
words, the fuel in another compart-
ment exploded in a monstrous fire-
ball, forcing Royd and his crew mates
back 20 metres. The vehicles in the
car park around them had begun to
melt, plastic bumpers and mirrors
sagging, paint bubbling.
As the firefighters readied them-
selves for another assault, a long,
high-pitched wail cut through the
night. At first, it was dismissed as theSHIRLEY'S HIPS
AND THIGHS
WERE PINNED
UNDER THE
WHEELS, HER
LEGS TWISTED
UP NEXT TO
HER CHEST.