Monday, March 21, 2016

History Watch: “Light at the End of the Tunnel”

History Watch:

"Light at the End of the Tunnel"
July in Marin is one of the best times of the year.  The days are warm but with fog along the coast it is not too hot and it makes San Rafael a great place for summer activities.  Such was the case on a warm summer day on July 20, 1961.

Two 12 year old boys were taking advantage of the great weather by going swimming at a public swimming pool in Santa Venetia.  But sometimes young boys get a little too rambunctious and these two did precisely that, which caused them to get kicked out of the pool for the day.

With nothing to do the boys looked around for some type of activity to relieve their boredom.  They started walking into the Terra Linda area and when they got to the north end of the Northwestern Pacific railroad tunnel by Los Ranchitos Road they decided to do some exploring. Excavated in 1879, Tunnel No. 4 connected the rail line between San Rafael’s main station to one in the Los Ranchitos area and points north.

Angry that they had been removed from the pool, they walked into the tunnel.  The boys walked to the south end of the tunnel on the Lincoln Avenue side where they stopped to decide on their plan of action.  The boys had matches and some rags and they decided to start a small fire.  The small fire turned into a larger fire when the flames reached the wooden support beams that had been soaked in creosote which was used to extend the life of the wood.  Wood and creosote burn very well and the fire got out of control quickly.  The boys ran from the tunnel as the fire started to build in volume.

The San Rafael Fire Department started to receive calls of smoke coming out of the Lincoln Avenue end of the tunnel at about 3:30 P.M. They responded to investigate and upon their arrival they were met by large volumes of smoke. Firefighters immediately set hoses up at the Lincoln Avenue end and additional fire engines went to the north end of the tunnel.  One of the problems was that the tunnel was about 2000 feet long and the afternoon westerly winds blowing in over the hills of Terra Linda entered the north end causing the fire to burn very quickly.

By about 4:30 P.M. the tunnel had turned into an inferno with large volumes of smoke pouring out of the Lincoln Avenue side.  Firefighters were frustrated as they now had a large fire on their hands which could only be fought from either end of the tunnel.  Fire departments from all over the county responded to assist.

As the fire grew, firefighters and other city personnel started to worry that the tunnel might collapse; however there was some confusion about where the tunnel actually ran. Most people did not think that it would be an issue as the tunnel was very deep under the ground and the thought was that the fire would burn itself out without any major problems. Fire engines and people were spread out all over the north end of Lincoln Avenue where they were staging for the fight.

The fire continued to burn fiercely with no other damage reported.  But at about 6:00 P.M. catastrophe struck.  Without any warning a 100 foot section of the roadway at the top of Lincoln Avenue collapsed.  People who were close to the fifty foot hole ran for safety and after a few minutes when things settled down, firefighters noticed that besides the collapse, something was terribly wrong.

Moments before the road gave way, twenty three year old Tiburon Firefighter Frank Kinsler was sitting in a Tiburon Fire pickup truck that was parked in the middle of Lincoln Avenue.  One second he was there and the next second he was gone.  The truck with Firefighter Kinsler inside had disappeared into the chasm.   Firefighters rushed to the edge of the cave-in but were met with smoke and flames. He was not to be rescued that day.

At about 6:30 PM, things got worse.  Realizing that they could not save Kinsler, the firefighter’s attention was drawn to an apartment house located at Lincoln Avenue and Fair Drive.  Small amounts of smoke were coming from the building and upon investigating, their worst fears were realized.  The tunnel had also partially collapsed under the building, setting it on fire.
Firefighters had their hands full.  The tunnel was still raging with fire, a firefighter was lost when the street gave way and an apartment building was now on fire.  More fire units were called and after several hours, fire crews put out the fire in the apartment complex.  The fire in the tunnel was brought under control, ironically assisted by the collapse that helped to put out the flames. Firefighters brought in heavy equipment to recover the truck and body of Firefighter Kinsler, however it took two days of digging to make the recovery.

The San Rafael Police Department went into action and they soon identified the two juveniles who started the fire.  They both confessed and they were subsequently arrested.

The tunnel was rebuilt and opened in 1967 at a cost of 2.8 million dollars.  The apartment house that was destroyed by the fire became a vacant lot for the next 53 years until a new apartment building was built in 2014.

Kinsler joined the ranks of a small group of firefighters who have lost their lives in Marin County fighting fires.

Attached are two photos.  The first photo shows firefighters fighting the apartment house fire and the second shows the recovery efforts to bring the fire truck and the body of Kinsler out of the deep hole.

This article is dedicated to the memory of Tiburon Firefighter Frank Kinsler.

Copyright 2016 Harry Barbier – All Rights Reserved

Lincoln Tunnel Fire - 7-20-61
Lincoln Tunnel Fire -7-21-61

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