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Train Collision Takes Out Highway Overpass

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Seven People Injured

TWO RAILROAD TRAINS COLLIDED at a T-junction at 2:30 am Saturday morning causing two dozen railcars to derail.  Some of the errant cars took out a support column for a highway bridge that goes over the tracks and most of the bridge came down on top of the mess.  The crash took place in Scott County, Missouri, in the southeast corner of the state.

KFVS-TV

Officials said that a Union Pacific train approached the junction that was still occupied by a passing Burlington Northern train that hadn't yet cleared the switch.

Eleven cars of the UP train went off the rails along with 13 of the BNSF cars.  It isn't yet known whose cars took out the highway bridge.

Spilled diesel from the locomotives started burning and damaged some of the units before the FD had it knocked down with foam streams.

KFVS-TV

KMOV-TV has some fire footage in this video report from the scene:

 

There were no cars on the bridge when it came down, but two autos came on it immediately after and didn't see the damage until too late to stop and they dropped down into the mess.  Five of the passengers in the cars were injured from the drop and had to be taken to the hospital.  The two UP operators, engineer and conductor, in the UP locomotive were also injured.  None of the seven were severe enough to require admission.

KFVS-TV

KFVS-TV Cape Girardeau reported:

One of the drivers, Christopher M. Cantrell, 22, of Benton received minor injuries. Two 19-year-old passengers, Victoria L. Cantrell and Sarah R. Ishmael, both of Chaffee, received moderate injuries.

Christopher Cantrell says he didn't see that the bridge had collapsed until it was too late. His car went airborne and crashed. His wife, Victoria, has a broken leg and broken ankle.

Family says Vickie Cantrell and Sarah Ishmael were supposed to be bridesmaids in a wedding today, but due to injuries, they won't be in the wedding . They were in listed in good condition Saturday afternoon.

The other driver, Larry J. Moore, 30, and a passenger, Angela R. Donley, 38, both of Chaffee, received minor injuries.

All seven patients were released from the hospital by Saturday afternoon.

KFVS-TV also filed this video report:

 KFVS12 News

Hat tip:  Charlie Bargman

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Spectacular Oil Storage Tank Fire in Brazil

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Six Tanks Involved

A FIRE THAT STARTED IN A STORAGE TANK at a lubricant and fuel distributor site on Thursday in Brazil, then spread to five more tanks and a few nearby homes before it was contained by the overwhelmed local fire department.

BBC News

Global Post reported:

One person died and seven others were injured when a huge fire destroyed at least six large fuel storage tanks outside Rio de Janeiro, local government sources said.

The fire broke out in the storage area of fuel and lubricant distributor Petrogold in Duque de Caxias, a municipality in the Rio metropolitan area, and it took firefighters four hours to bring it under control.

The Duque de Caxias city hall confirmed the death of one of the storage center's workers and the fact that seven others had been admitted to Adao Pereira Nunes Hospital.

The intense heat generated by the multiple tanks ablaze forced the firefighters to retreat several hundred feet back, so they concentrated their efforts on containment by spraying exposed buildings and rooftops to prevent spread.

Canale 25 has some good early video of the spreading fire:

 

News 24 adds this:

The victim was a 43 year-old man who worked at the site, owned by Petrogold fuel distributors. He was rushed to the hospital with 90% of his body burned but died soon after, local media reported.

The fire broke out just after 11:00, and about an hour later spread to the nearby homes.

Fire-fighters cleared out a four-block radius around the fuel depot, located in Duque de Caxias on the northern edge of metropolitan Rio. There were homes and a school within the evacuated area, said deputy Civil Defense secretary Jerry Pires.

Duque de Caxias Mayor Alexandre Cardoso ordered an investigation. "It is unacceptable to locate a time bomb in places were people live and study," Cardoso said.

Japan Times

According to officials with the state of Rio de Janeiro, Petrogold had no environmental license to operate, and had already been raided by federal police. The site was operating only because its case was being appealed in court.

ExtraWorldNews posted some good, raw aerial footage of the fire:

 

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Burning Train Trestle Tumbles in Texas

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Elevated approach to trestle bridge destroyed

SAN SABA, Texas (KXAN) -

A railroad bridge on the northern edge of the Hill Country came crashing down after flames engulfed the massive structure on Sunday.

The bridge spans the Colorado River along the San Saba and Lampasas county line, east of San Saba, Texas, and north of U.S. Highway 190. A foot bridge that crosses the river also burned.

Volunteer firefighters from Lometa and San Saba were on the scene for more than 15 hours. Crews responded to the call at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday and finally left the scene at 8 p.m. Monday.

According to the San Saba County Sheriff, the train trestle was built in 1910 and is privately owned by Heart of Texas Railroad in Brady, Texas.

The company mainly used the line to move sand for fracking from Brady to Lomita.

"It was an area landmark," said Sheriff Steve Boyd. "One landowner actually brought property nearby because he liked looking at the trestle."

Video shot by Jaime Smart, a member of the Lometa VFD, captured the bridge burning and falling to the ground.

Google Earth

From BridgeHunter:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Sawmill Fire Flashover Scorches Aerial Truck in Germany

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Buildings and Lumber Piles Occupy 200+ Firefighters

nh24

A FIRE LATE TUESDAY NIGHT destroyed a major portion of a sawmill and lumber yard in Fulda (Hersfeld-Rotenburg), Germany.  Shortly after the fire brigades arrived on the scene and had set up operations, a flashover occurred in the main building that set the entire structure alight and sent out a heat wave that scorched an aerial truck positioned close to the building.

The truck was "greatly damaged" and the engineer was transported to the hospital as a precaution.  About 220 firefighters of the fire brigades from Rotenburg, Alheim, Bad Hersfeld, Bebra and Melsungen were on the scene for several hours combatting the blaze.

Several company vehicles were also destroyed and the firefighters were kept back from the fire for a while as several compressed gas cylinders periodically exploded in the flames.

The saw shop, which contained many machines, was completely destroyed by the fire. There were also logs waiting to be processed into lumber. Also wood chips produced in the hall.  The adjacent carpentry shop was spared by the flames. The fire spread to a nearby warehouse, but it was not completely destroyed like the saw shop. According to the police the damage is over two million euros.

The investigation into the fire began this morning, but there were no early indications of what caused the fire.

HNA News posted this video report:

 

HNA News has the story and additional photos HERE.
Osthessen News has more details and an extensive photo gallery HERE.
Hessen News has an 80-image photo gallery HERE.

Thanks to Christian Lewalter of Feuerwehr Weblog.

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UPDATE: FF Missing in Dallas 6-Bagger – Body Recovered

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Last Contact Was 5:30 am

UPDATE, 10:30 pm Central:  Body of missing firefighter recovered.  Scroll down.

WFAA-TV

DALLAS, TEXAS, FIREFIGHTERS ARE still working a 6-alarm apartment fire this morning that has taken out an entire building of at least 24 units.  The fire was dispatched at 3 am Central and was steadily upgraded as the fast-moving fire was aided by high winds.

Around 5:30 am a radio message from a firefighter was brief as he called "I'm trapped…" but was unable to give his location.  The fire is largely knocked down at this hour, but there is an all hands effort to try and locate the missing firefighter.  Not knowing which part of the building he is in magnifies the problem.

The intense organized search began while the building was still burning  (WFAA-TV)

The regional USAR team has been brought in to stabilize the still-burning building so that the search teams will be better protected and able to reach more area.

WFAA-TV

KDFW-TV has a good video report from the scene:

 Dallas News | myFOXdfw.com

WFAA-TV has a 22-image photo gallery HERE.

Update, 10:30 pm Central:
The body of the missing firefighter was recovered from the debris just after 9 am Central time.  The victim's identity has not yet been released publicly.  As he was carried out of the fire building draped with an American flag, the firefighters gathered to pray and then salute as he was brought by.

CBS

WFAA-TV posted this video from the scene as he was transported to the coroner's office:

 

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3 Alarms in Willoughby

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Vacant Industrial Site

A FIRE IN A LARGE BUILDING at an unused industrial site in Willoughby, Ohio, kept about a dozen mutual aid companies busy for several hours Saturday night.

News-Herald

The fire was already well underway when it was first discovered and reported to 9-1-1.  The Willoughby News Herald is reporting this morning:

Willoughby Fire Chief Al Zwegat said his department received multiple 911 calls at 9:42 p.m. and when crews arrived on scene four minutes later, about 60 percent of the original building on the DeMilta Salvage property was engulfed in flames.

Fire departments from across Lake County were called to assist at the scene. Crews came from as far away as from the Perry Joint Fire District because the blaze required intense manpower to help lay down fire hoses, Zwegat said.

Zwegat said about 80 percent of the building had burned to the ground as of about 11 p.m. and fire crews expected to be on scene throughout the night and through most of the day Sunday.

The property has been largely vacant for close to ten years, save some storage area used by a local landscaping firm.

The News-Herald filed some raw video taken at the scene:

 

Google Satellite View of the property

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Tennessee Man Dies In Fiery Crash Off Bridge

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Spectacular Blaze and Plunge

A MARYVILLE, TENNESSEE, MAN died early Saturday morning when his car struck a bridge, caught on fire and then fell off into a creek below.

WATE-TV

The Blount County Daily Times reports:

James Pack III, 52, was identified as the driver killed in the crash, which occurred at around 2:30 a.m. near Tuckaleechee Pike.

Pack was traveling eastbound on East Lamar Alexander Parkway when his 2010 Infiniti QX5 ran off the left side of the roadway and traveled 279 feet in the median before striking a bridge abutment head on at the intersection of Tuckaleechee Pike, according to a Tennessee Highway Patrol report.

Pack’s vehicle caught fire after striking the bridge and traveled 68 feet on top of the bridge rail before falling off the bridge into Crooked Creek.

Blazing gasoline covered the creekbed and surrounding foliage (WBIR-TV)

Pack, the sole occupant of the vehicle, was not wearing a seat belt and was reportedly pronounced dead at the scene. The crash is still under investigation.

 

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Barbecue Grill Sets Restaurant on Fire

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Twice In Two Months – Costly Lessons

AN OUTSIDE BARBECUE GRILL located too closely to the building set a restaurant on fire in Genessee Township, Michigan, Thursday evening.  The building suffered significant damage as the fire spread up into the attic before the FD arrived.

MLive – Bay City Times

MLive.com reports this morning:

According to owner Reggie Clements, the blaze started after a fire from a barbecue grill quickly spread to a nearby fence. The fire quickly spread from the fence to the building. Firefighters and police were called just before 6 p.m.

"When I arrived on the scene, all the fire was concentrated in the back where the grill was located, and the fence and walk-in cooler were all on fire," Sowa said.

"We had the crews come out and extinguish that. Right now, the fire has gotten up into the roof and the end of the side wall. The grill was just a matter of a couple feet away from the building, so it spread pretty quickly."

About a quarter of the building was destroyed by the blaze and the rest had heavy collateral damage.

This was not the first trip to the back lot for the fire department.  The same situation occurred just a month ago when the same grill set the same fence on fire.  However at that time the restaurant staff knocked the fire down before the FD arrived with just some fence damage.  The FD officer warned Clements about the grill being located too closely to the building for safety's sake, but it was disregarded.

Read the full story in MLive.com HERE.

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Fire in Marijuana “Grow House” Leads to Multiple Arrests

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"One house leads us to another, and then another…"

ELK GROVE, CALIFORNIA, AND SACRAMENTO firefighters responded to a house fire late Saturday morning and found fire coming through the roof of a house that neighbors thought was vacant.

KXTV

Once they made entry to extinguish the fire, they found that the home was indeed unfurnished, but instead filled with hundreds of marijuana plants and extension cords in heavy use throughout the dwelling.

KXTV

The police were notified and detectives quickly obtained a search warrant that gave them access to information leading them to two other houses in the area that were also being used as "grow farms."  Altogether police seized 550 marijuana plants, $1,400 in cash, and a loaded, sawed-off shotgun.

A quick roundup brought arrests of five adults associated with the farms including the leader of the operation.

"There may be additional homes involved, or not. Traditionally, one house leads us to another and another," Elk Grove police spokesman Christopher Trim told the Sacramento Bee.

KXTV Ch. 10 filed this video report from the scene:

 

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UPDATED: Overnight Fire Claims 6 Family Members

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UPDATE, 12:30 pm Eastern:  Additional information and more video added.  Scroll down.

FOUR CHILDREN AND TWO ADULTS have been confirmed dead this morning (Monday) following a large house fire in Pottsville, Pennsylvania.

The fire began shortly before midnight Sunday and rapidly filled the entire home before the first-in units arrived on the scene.  The fire was difficult to fight because of access to the house and a quick collapse of the roof and upper floor.

WNEP-TV filed this early report from the scene:

 

According to the coroner's office, four children ages 2, 3, 7, and 8 were killed along with their father age 30.  His sister-in-law age 26 also perished, however the children's mother was not at home at the time of the blaze.

The state police fire marshal is on the scene awaiting the opportunity to get inside.  There is no indication yet on the cause of the fire.  Five firefighters suffered not-serious injuries.

Republican-Herald / Meyer

Units are still on the scene at the time of this posting and no further information is yet available.

SpankMan posted this raw video of the blaze:

 

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Fire and Film has more extensive video:

 

The Pottsville Republican-Herald has the early STORY.

Update, 12:30 pm: 
More information has been released since our first posting.  WTXF-TV Ch. 29 Philadelphia reports:

Fire officials said seven people lived in the home. Just one adult, the mother, survived. She was across the street in another house doing laundry.

The initial call was apparently to the police department for a disturbance. A neighbor tried to get in but couldn't. Fire crews were called in and arrived within minutes, but there was little they could do. Pottsville Fire Chief Todd March said, "When the police got here, and the neighbors, they all tried to get in the back of the building. One of our police officers tried to get into the basement door in the front. He got in so far, but there was flames were already coming down the stairs from the second floor down to the first."

The fire crews got water in the fire immediately, March said, but within five minutes the entire front of the building was engulfed in flames.

"The neighbors smelled smoke, including the mother, and they came out to see what was going on, and they just saw it, you know, heavily involved in the back of the building, a lot of smoke coming out the front," March said.

The neighbors' response was apparently what led to the "disturbance" call to police, according to the fire chief.

All of the victims were found in the bedrooms and were believed to be asleep at the time of the fire. Two were in the back bedroom, one was in the middle bedroom, and three were in the front bedroom.

The fire is believed to have started in or near the kitchen and the investigation is first concentrating on the home's furnace and the kitchen stove as the possible origin.

Ch. 29 also has a video update:

 Philadelphia News, Weather and Sports from WTXF FOX 29

Hat tip:  Carmine S. and Ron Y.

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Suspicious Fire Claims 4 Family Members in Illinois

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All Victims Believed to be Children

A HOUSE FIRE IN PERCY, ILLINOIS, early Friday morning took the lives of four residents and hospitalized a fifth.  The fire was reported around 2 am when the house was already well involved.

KMOV-TV 4

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is reporting:

Shirley Hornbostel, who lives about two houses away from the home that burned, said she heard the sirens this morning and looked outside. "I looked out my window and it was just in flames," she said. "Flames were coming out the roof and windows."

Hornbostel said the parents went to the hospital with a boy who suffered smoke inhalation. Hornbostel talked with the children's grandmother, who was outside on the street as investigators sifted through the rubble. "I felt like I owed her my sympathy," Hornbostel said. "She said four of my grandchildren are gone."

The grandmother told neighbors that investigators were looking at arson as a possibility because a gas can was found in the yard and the tires on two vehicles had been slashed.

The coroner declined to comment on the report of a gasoline can or slashed tires. "We're not releasing any information just yet," he said.

Randolph County Coroner Randy Dudenbostel confirmed Friday morning that the fire is considered suspicious.  He has not yet released the names or ages of the fatalities.

KMOV-TV St. Louis has provided some raw video taken from their helicopter:

 

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Tanker Fire Shuts Down Major Interstate in Pennsylvania

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Fire Causes Extensive Damage to Overpass

A TANKER CARRYING 7,500 GALS. of diesel fuel overturned and caught on fire shortly after 6 am Thursday near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  The 52-yr.-old driver was able to escape with just minor burns and was taken to the hospital.

The spectacular blaze was fueled by leaking product running along an overpass at a major interchange and caused I-81 to be shut down completely at Exit 67.

The Patriot-News reported:

A witness to the crash, Patty Wachter of Dauphin, emailed PennLive about what she saw:  "I was traveling Route 322 east taking the ramp to merge onto 81 and I heard a metallic sound. I looked to my left and the truck was sliding on its side and burst into flames. The fireball was huge and creating a cloud of dark black smoke.

"I saw a car that was following the tanker and hoped he got stopped. When I came around the bend I looked in my rearview mirror and there was a wall of fire and smoke from the road/ground up.

"I was just praying that everyone would get stopped before they hit it and that the driver got out alive. It was horrific."

Damage to the bridge was extensive and expected to keep the entire interchange closed at least through Sunday.  Long term repairs could take months and cost upwards of $10 million.

ABC27

The Cumberland County Sentinel has more details plus a full explanation of how the traffic flow of 100,000 vehicles per day will be rerouted around the shut down portion HERE.

MCFDTV posted this collection of raw videos, some taken before the arrival of FD while the roadway was still carrying traffic:

 

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LNG Tanker Ka-Boom Kills 20 in Mexico

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Police Say Driver Was Speeding

A TANDEM TRAILER LNG TANKER went out of control, crashed through a guardrail and exploded in a giant fireball early Tuesday morning in Ecatepec, Mexico, a suburb of Mexico City.

AP

The mighty ka-boom heavily damaged at least 45 homes that lined the busy, 4-lane highway, leading to the deaths of at least 20 people with more than 23 injured, some seriously.

The Associated Press is reporting:

A government spokesman, Cesar Diaz, said emergency workers would continue searching through the night in the charred remains of vehicles and homes built near the highway on the northern edge of the metropolis.

Residents pitched in to rescue people from the wreckage of the 5:30 a.m. explosion, crushed and burned cars and shattered homes. Television footage showed plumes of flame shooting out of homes in the pre-dawn darkness.

A huge piece of the truck’s gas tank was blown 50 yards by the blast, landing atop the wall of a house and cars parked outside.

NBC News

Mario Lopez, 43, a mechanic, lives in the house hit by the tank and managed to escape with his three sons after being awakened by the blast.

"All the windows broke to the inside. We got down and left crawling," said Lopez, who lost a brother, a sister, three nephews and a sister-in-law who all lived in separate units of the three-story home. He said 12 people in all died in the house. "Everything was in flames," he said.

The 36-yr.-old truck driver survived the crash, but is hospitalized and being held under arrest.  He is facing charges of manslaughter and property damage.

Read the entire report HERE.

NBC News posted this brief video from the scene:

 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

 

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UPDATED: 5 Killed in Limo Fire on California Bridge

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5 Others Escape Blazing Car

Update, 10:15 pm Eastern: Additional information on the early stage of the fire has been posted by the Los Angeles Times.  Scroll down for the update.
 

NINE WOMEN HAVING A BRIDAL-SHOWER party were riding in a rented limousine Saturday night near San Francisco when a fire started in the rear of the vehicle.  The blaze grew quickly enough to entrap five of them, including the bride-to-be, who perished in the fire, most of them being severely burned.

NBC / David Soloman

The other four passengers escaped with minor burns and smoke inhalation, but in otherwise good condition.  The driver of the limo also escaped without injury.

KPIX-TV5 also reported:

The limo was going west on the (San Mateo – Hayward) bridge at about 10 p.m. when smoke began pouring out of the rear passenger area, the California Highway Patrol said Sunday. The driver managed to stop the car and he and those in the front scrambled to safety. But the fire evidently spread so quickly that the rest of the occupants were unable to get out in time.

Bay Area News Group photo

Emergency crews extinguished the blaze before it engulfed the entire vehicle, but the rear one-third of the white, 1999 Lincoln Town Car was left a charred ruin.

The dead women were all in their 30s and 40s, the CHP said. The women were apparently going from Alameda to Foster City. The survivors, also in their 30s and 40s, were taken to Stanford Medical Center and to Valley Medical Center in San Jose for treatment of smoke inhalation and burn injuries.

A California Highway Patrol spokesman says that the early indication is that the fire started in the trunk of the stretch limo, but the investigation is just getting underway.  The medical examiner states that it will take at least two days to identify the victims because of the extensive burns they received.

KGO-TV posted some raw video from the scene:

 

The vehicle was traveling in the slow lane on the bridge when smoke began coming from the rear of the car.  The CHP says that the car was not involved in any kind of collision.  The cause of the fire is not yet known.

The San Francisco Chronicle has more DETAILS HERE.

Update, 10:15 pm Eastern:
The Los Angeles Times has obtained further information on the early stages of the fire provided through an interview with the medical examiner:

Orville Brown, a driver with LimoStop Inc., picked up the nine women in Oakland on Saturday evening, Corner Robert Foucrault said. He was hired to drop them off about 40 miles away at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Foster City for a bachelorette party.

The women, including the bride-to-be, were all riding in the passenger section of the limo when they noticed smoke coming from the back of the 1999 Lincoln Town Car, Foucrault said. They alerted Brown, who pulled over on the side of the San Mateo-Hayward bridge.

When Brown got out of the limo to inspect the vehicle, he noticed the rear was engulfed in flames, Foucrault said. Three of the passengers managed to escape through the rear passenger door. Another passenger squeezed through the partition that separated the driver from the passengers, he said. The bodies of the other five woman were found near the partition, he said.

"It was almost impossible for them to get out as the fire was moving so fast," Foucrault said.

Two of the surviving passengers — Jasmine Desguia, 34, of San Jose and Amalia Loyola, 48, of San Leandro were taken to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. They are being treated for smoke inhalation and burns. They are listed in critical condition.

Two other passengers — Nelia Arellano, 36, of Oakland and Mary Guardiano, 42, of Alameda — were taken to Stanford Medical Center. They were treated for moderate burns and smoke inhalation, authorities said. Their conditions are unknown.

Brown, 46, of San Jose, was not injured in the accident. Foucrault said he was "pretty distraught."

Investigators are saying that is could take several days to determine what started the fire.

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UPDATE: Train Wreck & Haz-Mat Fire in Belgium

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Fire Contained

Update Sunday am: Casualties starting to appear.  Scroll down for update:

The accident occurred around 2 am Saturday morning between the towns of Schellebelle and Wetteren. The train with 13 cars came from the Netherlands and was going to Gent-Zeehaven, the maritime port of Ghent. Six of the thirteen cars derailed, two are lying on their sides and three others caught on fire but the fire is under control.

La Libre

Fire has however caused explosions in the cars and forced the authorities to arrange for the evacuation of residents who live near the track

The fire cars contain acrylonitrile, a toxic substance, said firefighters. Traces of cyanide escaped cars on fire (cars one, two and five), a carcinogen that can be absorbed into the bloodstream. Teams of firefighters from Beveren measures are on-site. Currently, there is no danger to public health. Anti-cyanures kits have been provided to individuals would be exposed, but the release of smoke is not dangerous for the population. Two other cars contain of butadiene, five are empty and one was carrying light metals. This last is not on fire.

Extra water supply was pumped from drafting engines at the river.
(Le Soir)

Local residents were evacuated within a radius of 500 metres around the cars to two places. Within a radius of 1,000 meters, people should keep doors and Windows closed. Black smoke is visible from afar and is located above the village of Schellebelle and Wichelen. The SPF public health is on the scene also.

The provincial disaster plan was still in place Saturday afternoon. The Governor of East Flanders Jan Briers believes that the controlled burning of cars will definitely last until Saturday night. The operations of extinguishment and water containing traces of toxic substances is being discharged into sewers. The fire brigade has the fire contained and is allowing it to burn itself out.

The derailment occurred while the train was being switched from one track to another in the yards.

La Libre has the STORY.

 

Update, Sunday morning:
The fire is not yet burned out, but there are some casualties beginning to appear in the city of Ghent nearby.

AFP

One person has died and at least 17 later report saying 2 fatalities and 14 others have become ill and have been treated/hospitalized.  ABC News (Australia) is now reporting:

Fumes from the chemicals spread much further via a drainage system and authorities had to evacuate nearly 300 more people from their homes.

Many of the victims were people living well away from the scene of the accident, and Belgium's interior minister Joelle Milquet blamed the toxic fumes.

"There are two problems," she said. "There are the cars that derailed with this chemical product and which are ablaze, so there is a problem of poisoning linked to the smoke. The fire is under control but it will burn a while longer. But there is also another reaction.

"Some of the chemical product went into the drains and caused a kind of chemical reaction with gases that are toxic and escaped into certain streets beyond the perimeter that had already been evacuated due to the fire," she told the press.

AFP

 

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Popular Upstate NY Restaurant Burns

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"Went Up Like a Tinderbox…"

THE GRIFF RESTAURANT & PUB in Rome, New York, was destroyed this morning (Wednesday) in a fire that was reported around 2:30 am.

CNY Central

The first units on the scene found the eatery well involved in the rear where the kitchen was located, and spreading rapidly through the wood-frame building.

CNY Central reports:

The Griff Restaurant and Pub is a complete loss due to damage from the fire. What remains of the building will need to be demolished, officials say.

The pavilion of the 13 Pines Motel, which is next door, was hosed down with water to ensure the fire did not spread. The motel is about 200-300 feet from the restaurant.

James Magnanti, owner of 13 Pines Motel, says the restaurant "was a tinderbox. It went up like nothing, really quick." Magnanti says embers from the fire were floating in the air and landing on cars and the roof of the motel. He says they could feel the heat of the fire on the hotel doors.

CNY Central

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

WKTV Utica posted this brief video:

 

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Multi-Building Apartment Fire in Maine

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Three Buildings Lost

Sun-Journal

A FIRE ENVELOPED AN ENTIRE APARTMENT building in Lewiston, Maine, Monday evening and spread to two others before it was contained.  All three buildings were completely destroyed with two of them having partial collapses.

Press-Herald

The 3-alarm fire broke out around 5:30 pm Eastern and brought units from six other communities to spend several hours knocking the blaze down.  The Waterville Morning Sentinel reports:

About 75 people were displaced from the roughly 35 apartment units that were destroyed, and the American Red Cross was on scene into the night to help those people find shelter. The Blake Street building and another apartment building at 172 Bates St. partially collapsed.

"We feel 100 percent confident that we've accounted for all of the tenants," said Lewiston Fire Chief Paul LeClair. Personnel from the state Fire Marshal's Office were on scene to assist in the investigation, which will begin after crews extinguish the last of the smoldering remains, he said.

The Lewiston Sun Journal provided some good, raw video from the scene:

 

A neighbor told a reporter that the building where the fire started had been condemned last month and was vacant, but still used by several vagrants who camped in at nights.

WCSH-TV

Investigators are just beginning to get inside today to track down the cause of the fire.

The Morning Sentinel adds:

Harvey Brooks, a former firefighter who is now disabled, said he was at home at 172 Bates St. when a neighbor knocked on his door to tell him there was a fire. Luckily, he said, he knew to stay calm. He collected some of his cats, and along with his fiancee, fled the building.

"Unfortunately I don't believe our fire alarm worked in our building," Brooks said. "I did the only thing I could possibly do, which is holler."

Brooks said he was thankful no one was seriously harmed in the blaze. He said he was insured for the contents of his apartment. Still, there are some things insurance could never replace: the only remaining photo of his father, and the medals his dad won fighting in World War II.

Mr. Brooks gave this moving video interview to the newspaper:

 

Read the entire article in the Morning Sentinel HERE.
The Lewiston Sun Journal has more details and photos HERE.

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Ambulance Fire Smokes Up Hospital

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Hospital Temporarily Evacuated

A HOLDREGE, NEBRASKA, HOSPITAL was temporarily evacuated Sunday morning when one of their ambulances caught fire in the parking garage next to the emergency room.

KHGI-TV

The Phelps Memorial Medical Center's two ambulances were both parked in the tightly confined parking space when a fire broke out in the engine compartment of one of them around 10:30 am.

The acrid smoke immediately began seeping through the entire facility as the Holdrege VFD responded and extinguished the fire.

The ambulance was a total loss, but the patients were able to be brought back into the hospital after about an hour.  The ER had to be temporarily relocated because of the strong smoke odor that remaind for a while.

KHGI-TV has the full story in this video report:

 KHGI-TV/KWNB-TV/KHGI-CD-Grand Island, Kearney, Hastings

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Lightning Ka-Booms Houston Oil Storage Tanks

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2-Alarm Fire Ensues

A VIOLENT STORM SYSTEM swept across Harris County, Texas, Saturday afternoon and a lightning strike from it is being blamed for triggering an explosion and fire at an oil storage facility.

KPRC-TV

The incident began around 3:15 pm in a Houston suburb and the first-arriving units found "several" of the storage tanks ablaze.

"Several of them look like they did explode," said Dean Hensley, with the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office. "The other tanks are still intact, but obviously the fluids and oils inside the tanks are still burning."  That information was later updated to report that six tanks of various sizes had exploded.

The dispatch went to 2 alarms and the fire was easily knocked down by the FD.  A protective foam blanket was applied around the entire area to prevent any hot spots from igniting.

KTRK-TV has more DETAILS HERE.

KPRC-TV filed this video report:

 video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

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Four Children Perish in House Fire

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All Family Members

A 28-YR.-OLD WOMAN AND FOUR CHILDREN under age six died in an early-morning house fire Saturday in Newnan, Georgia (Coweta County).

Newnan Times-Herald

The adult, Lalonna McCrary was the mother of two of the children ages 5 and 2.  A third daughter age 11 escaped the blaze with the aid of two passersby.  The other two victims ages 3 and 1 were family members staying with the McCrarys.

The Newnan Times-Herald reports:

Coweta 911 received a call at 1:16 a.m. and Newnan police were the first on the scene, quickly followed by Newnan Fire Department personnel, authorities said.

"The house was fully involved by the time we arrived," said Battalion Chief Stephen Brown.

Three of the bodies were in one room and two others were found in another one, according to Newnan Fire Marshall Tim Cook.

The point of origin was the electric breaker box, but the cause is still under investigation.  Ralph Hudgens, the state fire commissioner, says the fire has been ruled as an accident.

All five victims have been taken by the medical examiner for full autopsies.

WGCL-TV posted this video report from the scene:

 CBS Atlanta 46

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Fire Wipes Out Russian Psych. Hospital

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Only Three Known Survivors

A FAST-MOVING FIRE SWEPT through a psychiatric hospital in Russia early Friday morning killing almost everybody inside.

Russian Emergencies Ministry image

The facility that housed and treated people with severe mental disorders was a 1-story wood framed, brick building with an open attic that was connected to a shed where the fire is believed to have started.  The Associated Press is reporting:

The patients were under sedatives and most of them did not wake up, Yuri Deshevykh of the emergency situations ministry told RIA Novosti.

At least 29 people were burned alive, said Irina Gumennaya, a spokeswoman for the Russian Investigative Committee.

Investigators said 38 people, including 36 patients and two doctors, have died. They said a nurse managed to escape and save one patient, while another patient got out on his own. The emergency services also posted a list of the patients indicating they ranged in age from 20 to 76. Gumennaya told Russian news agencies that most of the people died in their beds.

RIA Novosti

The nearest fire station is about 30 miles from the hospital, but the ferry needed to reach it is closed for the winter and the FF's had to take a 40-minute detour causing them to reach the scene after the building was on the ground.

RIA Novosti has more details HERE.

CNN provided this video report:

 

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Russia Today filed this video report:

 

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Fuel Barge Ka-Booms Rock Mobile

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Series of Explosions Through The Night

TWO LARGE FUEL BARGES docked in Mobile Bay, Alabama, had been prepped and were being loaded with gasoline to be shipped when a large explosion ripped one of them around 8:30 pm Central Wednesday night.  A second explosion followed immediately.  The event started a large fire on and around the docked vessels.

AP

While the Mobile Fire and Rescue Department was responding to the call a third explosion occurred.

The FD set up a 1-mile radius evacuation zone and held back from attacking the fire as the ka-booms continued through the night with the 7th and last (so far) blast going off at 2 am.  After that the fire gradually died down and is believed to have been extinguished around 7 am Central this morning.

Three people who were working on the first barge were critically injured with burns and taken to a burn center.

It is not yet know what caused the first blast that started it all, but there appears to have been little or no damage beyond the affected docking area.  But that is subject to be changed as the investigators are just now getting into the blast zone.

Mobile tv Ch. 10 posted this good, eyewitness interview that includes video of the second explosion:

 

The initial reports are understandably a little contradictory.  The barges are at a location where they are repaired and maintained, and it has been mostly reported that they were being cleaned and prepped before taking on their next load.  Another report says that at least one of them was filled with gasoline, but Firegeezer suspects that is a reporter's misunderstanding about a barge that had residual gasoline fumes.  We will update when more reliable information comes out later today.

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Spectacular Fiery Crash in Chicagoland

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Four Injured – One Critical

A SPECTACULAR CRASH IN NORTHFIELD, Illinois, Sunday night kept growing more critical as emergency units were arriving.

Chicago Tribune

The accident began unfolding on the Edens Expressway around 9:10 pm Central when a tractor trailer changed from the right lane to the center lane and struck a car while merging.  The truck then veered sharply back to the right and struck a second car and, continuing out of control, sailed back across to the left shoulder and crashed into the jersey wall ending up on top of another car.

The crash ruptured one of the truck's fuel tanks starting a major fire enveloping the median vegetation and some of the vehicles including the entire truck rig.

ChicagoAreaFire / Larry Shapiro

The initial dispatch was for a brush fire, but was soon upgraded to a truck fire as more calls came in.  First-arriving units further upgraded the call when they found the multiple injuries and advanced fire conditions.  An EMS box alarm was sounded bringing more ambulances, two ladders and additional pumper.  Eventually the box was further expanded to bring in two airport crash trucks.

Police have cited the truck driver for improper lane usage, lack of insurance and failure to display a medical card and log book.

Four people were injured in the crash, one critically with 3rd-degree burns.

The tractor didn't fare well either.
ChicagoAreaFire / Larry Shapiro

ChicagoAreaFire was on the scene and has posted more details, several photos and video HERE.  (Be sure to play the video! …. ed.)  Check back to their website later today for additional videos and expanded photo galleries.

Chicago Tribune has more DETAILS.

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Burning Ship Adrift Off Antarctic Coast

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Crew Rescued Wednesday

A CHINESE FACTORY SHIP THAT HAD set sail from Uruguay caught fire Wednesday off the coast of Anatarctica and called for help.

Chilean Air Force photo

A Norwegian freighter was nearby and rescued the entire crew and workforce of 97, leaving the ship adrift.

A Chilean Navy tugboat and another Chinese ship are on the way to harness the hulk in hopes of towing it away before it crashes into the coastal glaciers.  They are most concerned with preventing a breakup that would dump the fuel  oil into the sea.

The Associated Press is reporting:

The ship has been drifting in zigzags and circles at about 5 knots per hour. It's very close to glaciers and we've sent the tugboat in case it hits the coast causing an oil spill," said Capt. Juan Villegas, maritime governor for Chile's portion of Antarctica.

"The ship seems in good conditions from the photos we've seen," Villegas told The Associated Press. "The fire seems to have taken place at the engines and there's no risk of sinking."

The 104-meter (341-foot) Chinese vessel was built in 1990, according to the website of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.

The Kai Xin is operated by Shanghai Kaichuang Marine International Co., a company that specializes in deep-sea fishing, fisheries products and processing. The ship uses pelagic trawling for fishing and can sail in loose pack ice, according to the commission.

Read the full story HERE.

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Video Catches Roof Collapse at Fresno Restaurant Fire

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Strip Mall Destroyed

A SPECTACULAR FIRE IN A FRESNO, California, strip mall early Tuesday morning destroyed four businesses.  The fire is believed to have started in a popular restaurant, The Train Depot, that has been in operation for three decades.

KFSN-TV image

A passerby saw smoke coming from the restaurant and when the first units arrived the fire was into the common roof space and extending to the other occupancies.  Not long after their arrival, the firefighters were withdrawn from the building just before the roof came down in the restaurant.

The video report from KFSN-TV catches the roof collapse at the height of the fire:

 

Investigators are still working on locating the point of origin and the cause.  The entire shopping complex is destroyed with damages estimated to be $1.7 million.

KSEE-TV has more details and additional video HERE.

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