From the Archives: Fatal blasts at Signal Hill refinery in 1958
May 22, 1958: Flames and black oily smoke spew out of a storage tank as a series of fatal explosions rock the Hancock Oil Co. in Signal Hill.
(Larry Sharkey / Los Angeles Times)
Just before 2 p.m. on May 22, 1958, a series of oil spills and explosions rocked the Hancock Oil Co. refinery in Signal Hill. Two workers were killed and eight injured. Fires burned for two days.
The photo above by Larry Sharkey appeared on Page One of the May 23, 1958, Los Angeles Times.
(John Malmin / Los Angeles Times )
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