November 29, 1988

At about 0400 November 29, 1988 two Kansas City Fire Department pumpers responded to a report of a truck on fire at 87th Street and about Hickman Mills Drive--about where the future U.S. 71 Highway would pass as it was constructed north. Firefighters were aware that explosives were stored at the site, but had no idea of the breadth of that storage. At 0407 one trailer full of ammonium nitrate--the same substance that was used to bring down the federal building in Oklahoma City, exploded. This was followed by a second explosion about 40 minutes later. The two explosions killed six firefighters, completely demolishing the pumper trucks, and leaving huge craters in the land scape. It is well known that arson was the cause of the initial fires, but the investigation has been riddled with questions and even now some cast doubt on the conviction of the individuals that were charged with the crime.

The explosion was of such force that it was heard 30-40 miles from the site. The concussion broke many windows in the nearby area, and people were evacuated until it was clear that it was safe. I was not here at the time, but I met several people who were living just south of the site at Nob Hill Apartments at Bannister (95th St) and U.S. 71 who told me they were literally bounced out of bed by the force of the two explosions.

Killed that day were Thomas M. Fry, Gerald Halloran, Luther Hurd, James Kilventon Jr, Robert McKarnin, and Michael Oldham. The men, here listed in alphabetical order, worked on pumper 30 and pumper 41. I was watching some old video from the news casts, and the most shattering video was the site of the men wandering around the empty bay of pumper 30's station, trying to make sense of the loss.

Photos, from the Kansas City Star's archives. Top, the site after the explosion. You can see the remains of the trucks. Bottom, the memorial built on the site honoring the lost men.