ATLVault: The 1972 Doraville refinery fire

On April 6, 1972, a fire began at the Triangle Refinery in Doraville, starting with an overfilled storage tank. Vapors from the tank reached nearby homes on Doral Circle and ignited a pilot light at one of the homes causing an explosion. The explosion then set three storage tanks on fire.

In all, 300 people were evacuated from their homes, staying at nearby elementary schools, hotels, or with friends and family. Two people died in the fire, whose flames reached up to 400 feet and were visible from downtown Atlanta.

In 2022, Valerie Biggerstaff wrote a 50-year retrospective on the famous Doraville refinery fire, and shares her research with digital content producer Tim Darnell and ATLVault on Atlanta News First.