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From a welder’s torch to $149 million in damages: The November 1984 Bldg. 3001 fire

  • Published
  • By John Parker
  • Staff Writer
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Monday, Nov. 12, 1984, was a day off for Tinker Air Force Base employees and only about 100 people were working in Bldg. 3001. Veterans Day had fallen the day before.

As usual, though, Tinker firefighters were at their posts, even on a holiday. Their work "day" turned into three days fighting a fire that was one of the most arduous and exhausting events in the fire service's history.

That morning, a contracted welder had tried to cut through a drain pipe with a cutting torch on Bldg. 3001's northern rooftop. Then he headed off for a break. When he returned, smoke was pouring out of the pipe.

Notified of the fire at 11:46 a.m., Tinker firefighters waged a 40-hour battle against the largest blaze in the base's history.

The following are some of the incredible facts about that fateful fire in recognition of its 30th anniversary month.

Firefighters scrambled engines, trucks and crash units from all three Tinker fire stations. During 24-hour operations through Wednesday, approximately 500 firefighters and equipment from two dozen military and city fire departments were called upon to assist. 

The structure of the roof and the indoor ceilings hid the extent of the blaze and complicated fighting it. Most of the early fire burned in 8 inches of space between the roof deck and a layer of insulation below it. Ceiling sprinklers spewed water, but they were a foot below the burning space. Firefighters inside the building shot water toward the 35-foot-high ceiling, but couldn't break through the insulation layer to reach the flames and burning tar.

Firefighters poured over 5 million gallons of water on to the fire during the first 18 hours. 

At one point, the crews were fighting a wall of flames 1/8th of a mile long and 15 feet high. On the second day, a smoke plume extended 80 miles north from Bldg. 3001.

Hundreds of Tinker Air Force personnel were on the scene, helping with much-needed supplies, tools and equipment.  By Nov. 15, the Salvation Army, the 2854th Air Base Group and the Red Cross had served 5,000 meals to firefighters and Airmen.

Three helicopters scooped water from Lake Draper and dumped it on the flames at an average of every five minutes. A CH-47 Chinook from Fort Sill in Lawton carried 1,000-gallon loads.

The fire was declared under control at 3:21 a.m. Wednesday. About 685,000 square feet - about 15 acres - of the 2.1 million-square-foot building was destroyed. Another 200,000 square feet was damaged. No firefighters were seriously injured.

Clean-up and restoration involved three shifts working seven days a week. The first jet engine rolled off the production line two weeks later.

Damage costs were assessed at $149 million in 1984, or $341 million in today's dollars. Bldg. 3001 was fully restored on Sept. 1, 1985.

(Sources: Fire Command magazine; Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex history; C.H. Guernsey & Co.; the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI; and The Daily Oklahoman.)