John Hmurovic

Can you remember anything from the 30th month of your life? I'm not sure if my memory is from that time, or if it was from stories later told to me by people who were a part of my life at that young age. The memory I have is being held by mother. She was standing a safe distance from a large window in our house. The sky was completely red and the heat was intense. I didn't know what was going on, but I could feel the fear in her. What I was witnessing was the fire which followed the explosion of one of the world's largest oil refineries just a few miles away. My book is the story of that fire, told by people older than me, people who clearly remembered what happened in Whiting, Indiana on August 27, 1955. It was one of the most spectacular American industrial accidents when it occurred, and was front page news for days. Over 80 people were interviewed for this book. Those oral histories were combined with extensive research to tell the story of what happened at on that day at One Minute After Sunrise.