More than 100 firemen were treated for minor skin irritations caused by the firefighting chemicals and two others were rushed to the hospital when they were injured.

Some 250 Los Angeles City Fire Department firefighters were joined by civilians and other fire agencies as the blaze stayed out of control despite the thousands of gallons of water streams that were poured into the farm.

At one point early in the battle, a 30,000 gallon tank containing acetone exploded and was launched skyward some 300 feet before it tipped over on its side and came crashing down between two groups of firemen on the east wall of the flames.

An undetermined amount of the flammable chemicals, all alcohol-based, were dumped into the waters of Los Angeles Harbor and city fireboats and Coast Guard vessels used large booms to stop the flow spread.

Overhead, Los Angeles city and county helicopters joined by Coast Guard helicopters kept a watch on the spread of both the flames and the chemicals in the water.

Firemen now say that a tank truck accidentally started the fire shortly before 6p.m. when it hit four or five loading pipes of the General American Transportation Co., 220 E. Twenty-second St..

Battalion 6 Chief Frank Brown, who headed the firefighting operations until he was relieved by Acting Chief Engineer Kenneth Long, said the pipes that lead out of the silo-shaped tanks quickly exploded into flames.

When firemen received the first call, it was reported only as a grass fire at the base of the 73 tanks in the farm.

However, within one and one-half hours, more than 90 pieces of fire equipment from as far away as the San Fernando Valley the city of Commerce and East Los Angeles had joined the operations.

County firemen were called in to help the city crews with large quantities of foam and the Standard Oil Co. sent several crews and pieces of equipment in to fight the fire.

The 3M Co. also provided firemen with special antichemical agents to help stop the spread of the flammable liquid that almost over-flowed the base of the farm.

Using aerial ladders and snorkel crews, firemen pouring heavy streams of water into the tanks found that the problem was worsening.

"The water was mixing with the chemicals and burning right along with it," said Dep. Fire Chief Richard P. Carriger. "This is the worst chemical fire I've ever seen."

More than one hour into the fire, dispatchers Paul Grisgsby, Bill Dunsmore and Bill Maxwell continued bringing units in from all parts of the city.

However, firemen were not able to gain the upper hand on the blaze until 9p.m. when the efforts of the Crash 80 trucks from Los Angeles International Airport finally paid off.

The huge, bright yellow trucks that normally battle airplane crashes and crash landings at the airport, used a light water agent that finally snuffed out the flames.

Firemen explained that the light water, working in the same way as a water softener, penetrated the chemical base in a way that hard water can't.

For a time, firemen were hampered by the tanks that exploded as the heat in the middle of the blaze became more intense.

The lids of several tanks became airborne, resembling flying saucers when the tanks blew their tops. By the time firemen had extinguished the last of the fires, more than 23 tanks had been burned, but firemen were breathing a sigh of relief.

Due to the first positioning of manpower by Battalion 6 Chief Frank Brown, firemen were able to keep the flames from jumping a line of railroad cars and igniting several warehouses at Twenty-second and Signal streets.

Firemen manned hose lines atop the Crescent Warehouse and the Scandia Furniture Company, making sure the highly flammable contents didn't reach the wooden structures.

Fireboats moored nearby at Berth 55 pumped more than 20,000 gallons per minute into the land companies, taking some of the load off the land water supply.

Department of Water and Power crews kept a close watch on the water pressure, making sure that a sudden stop on the pressure wouldn't create extensive damage to the city water system.

Doctors from Harbor General Hospital were flown in by jet helicopter and administered first aid to firemen who suffered minor burns from the chemicals.