from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune

(1961) An explosion rocked a 250-foot tanker taking on gasoline at the Imperial Oil Co. Ltd. dock here Monday, touching off a spectacular fire and injuring six members of the crew.

The fire burned out of control in the No. 5 hold of the Imperial Hamilton for more than two hours and thousands of persons lined both the U.S. and Canadian shores of the St. Clair River to watch company fireman, using foam spray, fight the flames. A second tanker, the Imperial Windsor, was moored astern of the Imperial Hamilton, and only fast action by its crew prevented flames from spreading to that vessel. The crew moved the Imperial Windsor a half-mile upstream immediately after the explosion.

Wiliam J. Beynon, manager of the Imperial refinery, said the blast apparently resulted from vapor seeping out of a hold and into the boiler room. Gasoline-fed fumes shot high into the air and were easily visible from the Blue Water Bridge, three miles to the north.