Honoring Philadelphia firefighters, Philadelphia Gas Works engineers and employees, and various other city departments and employees, for their heroic actions during the explosion and fire at the Philadelphia Gas Works Passyunk facility in South Philadelphia.

WHEREAS, On Friday, December 22, 2000, at 10:00 pm, an explosion rocked a Philadelphia Gas Works Passyunk Plant complex in South Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, On one of the coldest nights of the year, a spectacular five-alarm blaze closed major roadways, forced nearby evacuations, and left more than 5,000 homes in Southwest and West Philadelphia with little or no heat; and

WHEREAS, The explosion and fire prompted heroic and well-trained Philadelphia Gas Works employees to redirect natural gas flow to prevent feeding the flames; and

WHEREAS, Braving frigid temperatures, high winds, and a potentially catastrophic situation, over 125 firefighters took extraordinary measures into the early hours of the morning, to prevent the enormous blaze from reaching a nearby liquid natural gas storage tank; and

WHEREAS, Through this well orchestrated and concerted effort, tragedy was avoided, damage to the Philadelphia Gas Works facility and to surrounding structures and property was minimized, and gas service was quickly restored to those residents that were left without heat as a result of the blaze; now therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That it hereby honors Philadelphia firefighters, Philadelphia Gas Works engineers and employees, and various other city departments and employees, for their heroic actions during the explosion and fire at the Philadelphia Gas Works Passyunk facility in South Philadelphia.

RESOLVED FURTHER, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Philadelphia firefighters, Philadelphia Gas Works engineers and employees, and other city departments and employees as evidence of the sincere gratitude of this legislative body for their valiant efforts during the Philadelphia Gas Works Passyunk plant explosion and fire and for the services that they provide the City of Philadelphia and its citizens.

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