Chapter 786 - 511 Facing Dalian 716_3

"Chief of Staff...."

...

Detachment cafeteria.

A slightly plump man with kind eyes, Regimental Commander Cong, had his usually broad eyebrows now knitted together.

"What??"

"Are you sure it has caught fire?"

"Alright! I got it!"

Just a few words, and his voice was already growing louder.

The Chief of Staff at the same table was also on the phone, speaking in a softer voice but with an equally grave expression.

Everyone around them quieted down, sensing the tension in the air.

The regimental commander quickly put down his cell phone, and immediately after came his command.

"There’s a big fire at New Port Tank Area! Activate the Full Attendance Command’s emergency alert! All duty personnel from the Command Department rush to the scene immediately!... Every department of the Detachment, everyone goes! And the Command Center, don’t we have the Joint Defense System? Hurry up and have them notify the Dayao Bay New Port area traffic police for traffic control! Set up a security perimeter of three kilometers!

Detachment, every single one of you, get to it! Report to the leadership of the Municipal Committee and the Municipal Government!"

Upon this, an advisor from the Command Department immediately stepped forward, whispering a few words.

The regimental commander’s expression turned stern, and turning to the cadres in the cafeteria, he shouted:

"Traffic control but no car? All departments listen up! If you have a car, drive it! If not, squeeze into the fire truck! If that’s still no good, then even if you have to cycle, you must get to the scene! Let me tell you, the opportunity to serve the people and earn your awards is here!"

He was a seasoned manager, and just five words dispersed the slight panic that had begun to set in from the orders to mobilize the entire Detachment, and everyone quickly stood up, picking up the pace considerably.

...

The alarm sounded four times.

All city firefighting and traffic police were deploying.

New Port was thirty to fifty kilometers away from various parts of the city, with long lines of reinforcements driving in. Fire trucks, disregarding all traffic rules, sped toward Dayao Bay.

Regimental Commander Cong’s phone kept ringing and he made call after call.

The situation on the ground changed every five minutes.

The regimental commander’s heart rate fluctuated wildly with the updates.

The crude oil tank area’s north gate was in danger! The fire was spreading toward the finished oil storage in the South Sea Tank Area!

The north gate, the Dagushan Squadron vowed to hold their ground!

The situation was bad! They couldn’t control the flow! The flowing fire and leaking crude oil bypassed the water gun positions and streamed out of the tank area through the northeast gate, reaching the adjacent oil storage!

Regimental Commander Cong kept shouting at the driver in front of him, "Faster! Speed up! Why so slow??"

Provoked by the scolding, the driver made a sharp turn, squeezed between two cars ahead through a narrow gap, and then suddenly accelerated to 80 mph, charging through a red light.

...

6:45 PM.

When Regimental Commander Cong’s car raced to the vicinity, there was a thunderous boom a few hundred meters away.

The ground trembled.

A tower of flames stretched from land to sea.

The driver in the front slammed on the brakes hard.

"Regimental Commander! It exploded!... Should you stay back first? You get out, I’ll go in and check!"

Regimental Commander Cong was also breathing rapidly, his mind spinning quickly as he said:

"That’s an internal flash in the oil tank! The tank is designed to withstand a Patriot missile! If it were to explode, it wouldn’t be this quick! Nor would it be just this small of a commotion!"

This commotion, small?

The driver was stunned but had no choice but to continue driving in.

Entering through the firefighters’ northern gate, the sights became clearer.

Although it was a sunny day with a beautiful sunset, the windshield was dripping with what seemed like rain.

The driver quickly turned on the windshield washers, but they couldn’t clear it off, leaving oily smudges all over the glass.

It wasn’t rain; it was oil rain from the sky!

Regimental Commander Cong went blank.

Seeing the scenes around him, his first thought was that the fire was beyond saving.

"Stop the car! Stop the car!"

With a loud shout, Regimental Commander Cong brought the vehicle to a screeching halt on the North Fire Lane.

As soon as he got out, the air felt several degrees hotter.

The Paotai Mountain Squadron had also arrived, and the soldiers from both squadrons were desperately holding their positions on the road ahead.

But they could hold on no longer.

Ten fire trucks had retreated to both sides of the wide road, but one aerial ladder truck was still unable to retreat.

The firefighters in sight were struggling in front of a sea of flames, facing the raging flamed flow, standing behind the aerial ladder truck, staunchly shielding the driver operating it, attempting to pull the aerial ladder truck already encircled by the fire.

No matter how hard they tried, the aerial ladder’s four legs wouldn’t budge, and the fire wall in front had already reached them. Furthermore, the burning flow had formed a line of fire, reaching right underneath the truck, mere meters away from the soldiers, the heat roasting their faces, forcing them to lower their heads and spray water forward.

Seeing this, Regimental Commander Cong felt frenzied. He was overheating even 20 meters away, and one could only imagine the temperatures closer to the front line.

"What are you doing? Retreat!! Forget the truck! Get out now!!"

As his voice rang out, the instructor from Dagushan turned around, saw the regimental commander, and nearly broke down in tears, shouting shakily:

"Regimental Commander! Big Power Dragon! This is our Big Power Dragon!"

The instructor’s heart was bleeding.

The new aerial ladder truck, hardly having found the perfect spot and having sprayed for only five minutes, was now encroached upon by the explosion! The fire they had suppressed exploded in a flash, reaching them right away!

The driver, voice filled with a sob: "The fire came too fast! The hydraulic hose got toasted! Can’t retract the legs!!"

Upon hearing this, Regimental Commander Cong also felt a sharp pain in his heart.

The Big Power Dragon aerial ladder truck, 11 million!