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San Bruno Update

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THE SEARCH FOR VICTIMS IN THE SAN BRUNO, California, explosion and fire has been officially ended.  (see the Firegeezer report on the initial incident HERE.)  The entire area of damaged and destroyed homes has been physically searched and followed up with a careful combing by 12 cadaver dogs.  There are four confirmed fatalities, one of them a 44-yr.-old mother and her 13-yr.-old daughter.  The other two are women also, ages 20 and 81.

There are 52 known injured so far, 8 in critical condition, with 4 of them in a hospital burn unit, all of them sedated and on breathing machines.  A doctor said that the most urgent concern is to prevent infection. In coming days, the patients will be undergoing skin grafts.  He said it could take a year or two for the victims to fully recover and that doctors will have a better idea of long-term prognoses later in the weekend.

SF Chronicle / Atkins

At least 37 homes were completely destroyed and 8 more are extensively damaged and may have to be demolished.  The total number of damaged homes is believed to be 170.

San Francisco Chronicle / Chinn

The San Jose Mercury News reports:

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the cause of the Thursday night explosion and fire, while the California Public Utilities Commission is heading up the state investigation.  Authorities are looking into the insulation of the pipeline, its pressure and what safeguards were in place, if any. The investigation is expected to take up to 18 months.(Gas co.) President Chris Johns said crews worked through the night to make sure the area was safe and that all gas was removed from the line that ruptured and related lines. He said the pipe that ruptured was 30 inches in diameter and about 40 to 50 years old.

“We haven’t been able to get close enough to the actual source to be able to determine exactly why this happened, but we are trying to do that,” he said.

SF Chronicle / Chinn

In a press conference Friday, the vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board said that the explosion flung a large part of the pipe out of the ground and down the street “some distance” from the 50-ft crater where the explosion took place.

SF Chronicle / Atkins

The Associated Press reported on the press conference and update findings in the video report:

The San Francisco Chronicle has a 112-image photo gallery HERE.

Posted by on September 11, 2010 • Filed under: explosion, fire, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , , ,

Meth Lab Ka-Boom Takes Out 30 Apartments

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AN ENTIRE BUILDING IN A DES MOINES, IOWA, apartment complex was destroyed Saturday afternoon when a suspected meth lab blew up in one of the units.  The large explosion blew out part of the wall and started a fire that swept through all 30 units in the building, leaving at least 100 people homeless.

Des Moines Register

The Des Moines FD required two hours to bring the fire under control and all the personal possessions of the tenants were destroyed.  The two suspects, ages 28 and 21, were seriously injured and hospitalized with one of them burned over 30 to 50 percent.  Both have been transferred to a burn center in Iowa City.

WHO-TV

After the fire was extinguished about 2/3 of the roof collapsed.  The entire building is a total loss and will have to be demolished.  The multi-building complex has 180 apartments and management believes they have enough vacant units to house the residents that were burned out.

Des Moines Register

KCCI-TV Ch. 8 posted this video report from the scene:

The Des Moines Register has a 30-image photo gallery HERE.
The Register has the STORY.

Posted by on August 30, 2010 • Filed under: explosion, fire, Fires • Tagged: , , ,

CNG bus explosion

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From yesterday’s Korean Herald:

17 people injured in explosion of gas-powered public bus

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Seventeen people were injured, one of them seriously, when a natural gas-powered public transit bus exploded on a Seoul street, police and witnesses said Monday, Yonhap News reported.

The explosion took place at around 4:57 p.m. when the bus was waiting for the light to change on a motorway in Haengdang-dong of Seoul, police said.

The catastrophic failure resulted in 17 injuries to riders and pedestrians, one of which was serious and resulted in a 28-year-old woman requiring immediate surgery to both ankles. Seoul’s bus fleet is comprises of approximately 95% CNG buses and as a result the government’s launched an immediate investigation into the safety of the fuel tanks.

If the failure mode is determined to be a defect in the tank, all buses manufactured in the same year will be recalled and possibly others if their tanks are considered suspect. One thing’s for sure though, we’re betting Seoul’s bus ridership drops just a little bit until they get things figured out.

Shamelessly borrowed from Ben at Jalopnick. Who got a tip from duurtlang.

Mike “FossilMedic” Ward

Posted by on August 11, 2010 • Filed under: HazMat, Mass Casualty Incident, News, Special Operations, Urban Commander, Videos • Tagged: , , , , ,

Plant Explosion Buckles Steel Beams

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AN EXPLOSION DESTROYED A SECTION OF U.S. STEEL’S Clairton plant Wednesday morning.  The massive facility produces coke used in US Steel’s mills.  For a reason not yet known, gas in one of the ovens ignited and blew the entire Battery B unit apart, demolishing concrete walls and twisting the huge steel beams that support the roof.

There was no subsequent fire and nobody outside the facility was even aware that anything had gone wrong until lots of ambulances began arriving to tend the 20 injuries.  The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tells us:

It was coke-oven gas. They did have a leak of it, and it sought out an ignition source, and there was an explosion,” said Robert A. Full, Allegheny County’s emergency management chief.

Several workers at the Clairton Plant had been standing within “footsteps” of the explosion and were enveloped by a fireball, yet survived, Chief Full said.  “By the grace of God, nobody’s dead,” he told reporters outside the plant’s main gate as workers headed for home at the end of their shift at 3 p.m. “It’s a miracle no one was killed outright by the blast.”

The Associated Press filed this raw video that includes views of the triage area:

 Two workers in their 50s were in critical condition with chemical burns in their airways as well as burns to their heads, necks and faces, said Dr. Larry Jones, West Penn Hospital’s director of emergency medicine.  “The burns themselves are serious burns, but with the inhalation injury on top of it, these are very, very serious, a very serious situation,” Jones said.

The explosion forced the shutdown of Battery B, one of nine operational batteries at the plant, but the rest of the facility was functioning normally.  The B battery contains 75 coking ovens.

The Clairton Plant covers over 392 acres about 20 miles south of Pittsburgh. U.S. Steel says the coking operation is the nation’s largest, producing about 4.7 million tons of the material each year.

Read the full story in the Post-Gazette HERE.
KDKA-TV has MORE.

Posted by on July 15, 2010 • Filed under: explosion, Mass Casualty Incident, Videos • Tagged: , , , ,

Bungling Burglar Ka-Boom Backfires

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SOME UNSKILLED BURGLARS IN MALLISS, Germany near Berlin, failed to properly calculate the amount of explosives needed to blow the door off of an ATM at 2 am Tuesday.

Instead of blasting their way into the money cache, they demolished the entire bank branch, bringing the roof down on the ATM preventing them from getting to it.  It also set their getaway car on fire forcing them to literally beat feet out of the neighborhood that was shaken by the explosion.

The ATM, seen in the foreground, was the only thing in the bank
that wasn’t destroyed.  The crooks left without any money.

Flying debris damaged several nearby buildings and parked cars.  At least 55 firefighters arrived to make the area safe and look for any victims.  

A local police spokesman said:  “They really botched this one. We are just so lucky at the timing and the fact that no-one lived in this largely commercial area.  Initial examinations indicate a gas bomb of approximately ten times the amount of power needed to open up the cash machine.  As it was they brought the roof down upon it, thus preventing them from getting to it or stealing money from it.”

The UK Daily Mail has MORE.

Posted by on May 27, 2010 • Filed under: crime, explosion, Fire Rescue Topics • Tagged: , ,

Mansion Ka-Boom in France

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A GROUND-SHAKING EXPLOSION ROCKED AN UPSCALE NEIGHBORHOOD in Amiens, France, Saturday morning when an apartment blew up, destroying a major portion of the former mansion that had been converted to several living units.  The windows of many buildings nearby, including a school, were blown out according to the AFP correspondent on the scene.

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Le Courrier / Picard

The blast occurred at about 10:15 in a residential street Ducange and was followed by a fire that was easily extinguished.  A 30 year old man was badly burned at 90% and transported to the Percy hospital in Clamart (Hauts-de-Seine).  He is the tenant of an apartment that is believed to be where the explosion occurred. Initially, authorities thought he was a passer-by who was injured by the debris and fireball while walking down the sidewalk, but it turned out that he was in the apartment and was blown out of the building and into the street.

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Courrier / Picard

At first the fire/rescue and police believed that three people were missing and extensive search procedures were begun including the use of search dogs.  But after a time the unaccounted-for residents were located elsewhere and were uninjured.

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Courrier / Picard

Origin of the explosion remains unknown, although the gas is “likely involved,” according to the prefecture, saying the police investigation should determine the causes of the disaster.  There were 80 firefighters called to the scene.

Fred-Lille sur Le Post filed this video report:

Le Courrier has additional video and a 27-image photo gallery HERE.
The AFP has MORE.

Posted by on May 16, 2010 • Filed under: explosion, Fire Rescue Topics, rescue, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: , , , ,

Homemade Rocket Sled – Fail

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A 62-YR.-OLD MICHIGAN MAN IS HOSPITALIZED this week after his makeshift rocket sled blew him up on Saturday.  The unidentified Oakland County man has a sledding party behind his house every year and each time he tries a different stunt.

This year he decided to play Rocket Man, dressing up with a motorcycle helmet, a garbage bag cape, and a backpack designed to propel him along on his plastic sled-board.  His backpack contained an automobile tailpipe that he had packed with a mixture of gunpowder, gasoline, and match heads with a wick sticking out of it.

As he got ready to shove off down the hill, he had somebody light the wick and then he started downhill.  Within a few seconds the device exploded, leaving him with 2nd-degree burns over his upper body and face, with some possible eye damage.

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Oakland County Sheriff photo

The sheriff’s spokesman added that the man had been drinking before the incident as well.  “Apparently, he has this sledding party every year, and he always does outrageous things at it, but he’s never blown himself up before,” the deputy said.

The Detroit Free Press has the STORY.

Posted by on February 2, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, explosion • Tagged: , ,

Downtown Explosion in Belgium

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Updated:  scroll down.

A BUILDING IN THE CENTER OF LIEGE, BELGIUM, was ripped by an explosion at 1:45 am local time this morning (Wednesday).  The blast is believed to have been caused by natural gas, but when the FD arrived the interior of the building was demolished with several fires in different locations throughout the 5-story structure.

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Sud Presse (Belgium)

Fortunately for the FF’s, the building was untenable and all the fire attack had to be done from the outside.

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Sud Presse

Five hours later while the FF’s were still knocking down the fires from outside, the building suddenly collapsed to the ground.

This news video courtesy of Sky News shows the collapse:

There were about 20 people injured by the collapse with at least two hurt seriously.  Early reports say that two, and perhaps four, people are unaccounted for, but it was not said whether they are firefighters or civilians.

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Reuters

Paris Match has the early STORY.
Sud Presse has a 172-image photo gallery HERE.

Update, 5 pm:
A 13-yr.-old girl has been found alive in the rubble as the rescuers continue their extensive search of the building.  The total number injured and hospitalized now stands at 23.  Later in the evening the body of one dead was located and removed.

Update, 10 pm:
More bodies have been retrieved.  See Firegeezer Update posting with more information and additional videos HERE.

Posted by on January 27, 2010 • Filed under: explosion, fire, Fires, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: , ,

16 Dead In Hospital Blast, Collapse

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AN EXPLOSION IN THE CARDIAC CARE UNIT at a hospital in Lugansk, Ukraine, on Monday heavily damaged the building and left at least 16 people dead.

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Reuters

It is unclear exactly what happened, but reports from Ukraine are using terms like “oxygen cannisters exploded.”  It suggests that something sparked in a hyperbaric atmosphere, but whatever occurred, it blew out the side wall and caused two floors of the 6-story building to collapse down onto the (third) floor.

AFP

AFP

Authorities say that there were 261 patients and 350 hospital workers in the building known as City Hospital No. 7 at the time of the explosion.  After searching through the destruction for two days, the rescue workers have given up any further attempts at saving anybody and have withdrawn after saving four lives.  There are no expectations that there are any more victims or bodies in the rubble.

The police have detained the head of the health and safety department of the hospital on suspicion of violating of safety regulations that resulted in fatalities, the press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office reported.

Collated from various European news sources.

Posted by on January 20, 2010 • Filed under: explosion, Rescues • Tagged: , , , ,

Morning Lineup – December 30

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One of the first things that I see this morning is the news about a firefighter in Wisconsin being killed when something inside a burning trash dumpster exploded most violently last evening.  It’s something that we have all known was bound to happen somewhere, sometime.  We have always preached that you never take anything for granted, such as “It’s only a dumpster fire,” but still there are times when you cannot defend against this kind of occurrence.

In this case, it may well have been a case of extremely unfortunate timing that was determined by fate.  The fire was discovered by a police patrol car who called in the alarm at just the wrong moment to set a chain of events in motion that ended up with a crew of firefighters at the scene just as the explosion occurred.  WLUK-TV Ch. 11 in Green Bay has this review that includes a press conference with the Calumet County Sheriff:

Dave Stater was working the news desk when the news broke and he has the best overall early coverage of the incident.  His story posted on STATter911 is the best place to start your reading and viewing of the incident, so CLICK HERE to begin.

Back when I was a young firefighter, a group of us traveled to the Univ. of Maryland’s Fire Service Training Institute to take a some weekend courses and I still have a handout that we received in one of them.  It was an inventory of the contents of half a dozen dumpsters that the FST’s instructors had chosen at random one day to rummage through and see what was laying in wait for the unwary fireman.  It was titled appropriately, “Just a Dumpster Fire.”  I’ll rummage around my box of old papers today and see if I can find it.  If I do, I’ll share it with you.  But I’ll bet that you could do the same thing with some trash containers in your own first due.

We’d better get our equipment checked out now.  This time of year we’re sure to be busy, so let’s make sure we’re ready.  I’m going to get a fresh pot started before we meet back in the day room.

Posted by on December 30, 2009 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , ,

Home Explosion Severely Injures Teen

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A DELMAR, NEW YORK, NEIGHBORHOOD WAS ROCKED by an explosion shortly before noon on Friday coming from a modest house in the Albany-area community.  The woman who lives there with her teenage son called 9-1-1 to report the blast just as fire was starting up.  First on the scene were two police officers who were met with heavy smoke coming from the house and just then two more explosions occurred.

Apparently learning from the uninjured lady that her son was inside in the basement, the officers went inside where they found the boy and pulled him out of the house.  The 15-yr.-old was suffering from severe burns over his body and had lost a hand in the blast.

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Times-Union / Tom Heffernan photo

When the fire units arrived on the scene, they decided on caution, not knowing what was causing the explosions, and stayed outside concentrating on protecting the exposures.  Smaller explosions continued for a while as the house burned down.  WRGB-TV reports:

The two town police officers who rescued the boy, along with two paramedics, were treated for “possible exposure to an unknown chemical,” police said. HAZMAT crews were reportedly decontaminating every emergency responder.

A paramedic told Heffernan that the basement was “filled with several chemicals,” while another emergency responder said that rocket fuel may have been among them. Agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives were investigating whether the chemicals were being used in the production of an explosive device.

The Albany Times-Union has MORE.

WXXA-TV Ch. 23 has this video report with good fire footage:

Posted by on December 20, 2009 • Filed under: explosion, Fires, HazMat, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , ,

Dangerous Dipping Does In Gum-Chewer

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Vladimir Lokhonos

Vladimir Lokhonos

IN KYIV, UKRAINE, A UNIVERSITY CHEMISTRY STUDENT met an unfortunate end on Thursday when he neglected to  watch where he was dipping his chewing gum.  Vladimir Likhonos, 25, was at home studying in his room with a small dish of citric acid sitting on his desk.  It was his usual practice to dip his chewing gum in it to prolong the taste as he chewed.

But on this day he also had a small quantity of a similar-looking white powder that resembled the citric acid, but which was an as-yet unidentified explosive powder.

The first indication that something was wrong was when his parents heard a “pop” coming from the young man’s room.  When his father went to see what it was, he found Vladimir slumped in his chair with his jaw blown off his face and his entire head a bloody mess.  Apparently he had accidentally dipped his gum into the wrong powder and the combination of the explosive, his saliva and the grinding from chewing it detonated the powder.

The police are treating it as an accident, but are investigating into why he manufactured the explosive in the first place.

Russia Today has the STORY HERE.

Posted by on December 14, 2009 • Filed under: EMS Topics, explosion • Tagged: , , , ,

Munitions Collector’s Home Goes Ka-Boom

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PHOENIX, ARIZONA, FIREFIGHTERS WERE CALLED to a house fire shortly before 10 pm Saturday night after neighbors reported hearing an explosion at the home.  When they arrived, they found some smoke showing, a fire just beginning to break through and the homeowner standing out front with burns over the upper part of his body. 

As they started into the house, a series of small explosions started up and the FF’s withdrew back outside.  After putting out the fire that destroyed much of the home, they called in the police bomb squad to investigate and make the area secure.  It turned out that the victim is a military armament collector who also reloads his own ammuntion for his firearms.  They also found many inert hand grenades and rocket grenades.

This video report from KSAZ-V Ch. 10 shows what happened:

The victim is hospitalized with burns to his arms, face and the top of his head.  The man’s wife said her husband was in the “reloading room” at the time of the fire, but he was not reloading ammunition.  The police found nothing illegal in the house, but the neighbors are still jittery.

Posted by on December 14, 2009 • Filed under: explosion, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , , , ,

Chemical Ka-Boom in Texas

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Update, 11 am Central:  Early video added,  scroll down.
Update #2 posted, Noon Central.  scroll down.

A HOUSE-SHAKING EXPLOSION AT A HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS, CHEMICAL PLANT occurred about 90 minutes ago, just before 9 am Central time.

acryl a KPRC

KPRC-TV

The blast took place at an American Acryl plant in Seabrook (Houston area).  A shelter-in-place order has been issued for the city of Seabrook.

Update #1: 
Early video report from KRIV-TV:

Update #2, Noon Central time:
The fire is now reported to be out and the site secured.  All plant employees have been accounted for, but two were transported to the hospital with breathing difficulties.

All shelter-in-place orders have been lifted except for the city of El Lago.

The plant, which has been in operation since 2002, is primarily used to produce acrylic acid, a basic ingredient in a wide array of products including paint, hand lotion, adhesives and diapers. It is highly flammable and can cause skin, eye and lung irritation.  There are approx. 50 employees at the facility.

Posted by on December 9, 2009 • Filed under: explosion, HazMat, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Spectacular Home Explosion on Cape Cod

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AN APPARENT GAS LEAK IN A SANDWICH, MASSACHUSETTS, home early on Thanksgiving Day led to a massive explosion and fire that burned the lone occupant and destroyed the house.

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Sandwich FD photo

The victim’s sister told reporters that her brother had been complaining about the smell of natural gas ever since a new water heater was installed on Wednesday.  The victim, Joseph Kuzava suffered 2nd-degree burns over his upper torso and was flown to a burn unit in Boston where he is on a respirator.  He is expected to live, however.

NECN has the video report:

CapeWideNews has the story and more photos HERE.

Posted by on November 26, 2009 • Filed under: explosion, Fires, Videos • Tagged: , , , ,

Death Toll Soars in Chinese Mine Disaster

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THE NUMBER OF FATALITIES IN THE CHINESE mine explosion Saturday morning has risen to 104 with 4 miners still missing.  The gas explosion in the colliery was reported in Firegeezer HERE on Saturday and even by China’s standards was an especially devastating accident.  Six people remain in the hospital with severe burns.

State-run CCTV has this video report:

ABC News Australia reports:

With the families of dead miners demanding answers, Chinese officials have slammed the safety provisions at the Xinxing mine.  The head of the State Administration of Work Safety, Luo Lin, said the initial explosion was caused by poor ventilation which saw dangerous gas spread quickly.

He also said mine management was responsible for failing to evacuate workers quickly enough.

Xinhua News Agency reports that  management did not abide by regulations that say that miners must be evacuated when gas density exceeding two per cent is detected. In this case, the density in the pit had risen to 10 per cent.  “The mine has too many mining platforms in operation and has sent too many workers down the pit to increase output,” the government media quoted Zhao Tiechui, deputy head of the work safety agency, as saying.

The cause of the accident has been zeroed to poor ventilation in the mine besides poor mine management and inadequate precautions for the safety for workers. The accident happened due to a gas leak in one of the shafts, officials said. The gas poured into the main tunnel and triggered an explosion that shook 28 of the 30 mining platforms in operation because there was not enough ventilation to release the leaked gas.

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Rescuers travel 1/4-mile underground
in search of victims.

Posted by on November 23, 2009 • Filed under: explosion, Rescues, Videos • Tagged: , , , ,

China Mine Blast Kills 46

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Update #2, Monday:  See updated video and report on Firegeezer HERE.

Update, Sunday night:  The death toll is now 87 with 21 missing.

CHINA’S MONTHLY COAL MINE DISASTER RIPPED THROUGH A STATE-OWNED mine in the northern province of Heilongjiang, along the Russian border.  The blast, which is intially believed to be a gas explosion, was triggered around 2:30 am while approx. 528 workers were in the mine 1/4-mile underground. 

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So far, there have been 46 known dead and about 40 hospitalized.  While about 415 miners were able to escape from the tunnels, there are still more than 60 people missing.

The always-busy mine rescue agencies have sent 156 rescuers to the site to begin searching for the missing miners.

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Xinhua photo

The mine has a current annual output of 12 million tons of coal.

The Xinhua state news agency has an early REPORT.

Posted by on November 21, 2009 • Filed under: explosion, Mass Casualty Incident • Tagged: , , , , ,

Two FF’s Killed in Blast at Russian Military Base

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ulyan a RIA novosti

RIA Novosti

AN EXPLOSION AND SUBSEQUENT FIRE AT A MILITARY DEPOT in Ulyanovsk, Russia, Friday has caused significant damage while killing two military firefighters and injuring at least 20 others.  At first there were thought to be more than 30 missing, but they were found later sequestered in a bomb shelter and escorted to safety.  The facility is a Russian Navy arsenal where weapons and ammunition are stored.  Officials say that there are “thousand of carloads” of ammunition kept in the depot.

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NTV

The Russian Defense Ministry said the initial explosion took place around 4 pm local time (8 am Eastern time) “apparently during the disposal of ammunition.  The explosion in one of its workshops led to a fire which spread onto adjacent buildings of the military units,” the statement said. “The surrounding area is cordoned off. Fifteen fire brigades … are trying to localize the fire.”   The fire response was later upgraded to 20 companies.

CNN has this raw video from VESTI-TV:

Local hospitals were flooded with civilians suffering from cuts by broken glass caused by the long succession of explosions that at one point were occurring every 30 seconds.  Two trucks loaded with gunpowder also exploded.  Provincial governor Sergei Morozov said 3,000 people were evacuated from the area.

Russia Today has this excellent English-language video report that goes into more detail of the fire and the causes:

The two firefighters that perished were part of a team that was working to keep the fire from spreading within the compound.

This report will be updated if and when any further information is released.

Posted by on November 14, 2009 • Filed under: explosion, Fires, In the Line of Duty, Major Incidents, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , ,

Schoolgirl Burned in Science Lab Explosion

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 A 10-YR.-OLD GIRL WAS AIRLIFTED to a burn hospital in England on Wednesday afternoon following an explosion caused by a chemical mixture.  The girl was attending an after-school science lab when the event occurred, leaving her with “significant” burns to her hand, arm and face.  While the injuries are extensive, they are not considered life threatening.

The paramedics responded at 4:30 pm and treated the girl with oxygen and used a special gel on her burns while awaiting  the air ambulance.

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Swanage Middle School

The explosion took place in the Swanage Middle School in Dorset, a county in the southwest part of England.  The Dorset Fire and Rescue Dept. needed an hour to clear the classroom of any hazards.  An early report indicated that aluminum powder was involved in the accident, but it was not corroborated.

The Bournemouth Daily Echo has the STORY.
BBC News has MORE.
Dorset Fire and Rescue WEBSITE.

Posted by on November 12, 2009 • Filed under: ambulances, EMS Topics, explosion • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Asheville Apartment Explodes, Burns

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Citizen-Times photo

AN APARTMENT IN AN ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, PUBLIC housing complex had an explosive-type event just before noon Monday that started a major fire in the building.  Nobody was home at the time of the blast, but a man working in the vacant apt. next door was slightly injured as he was escaping from the building that contains six dwelling units.

The fire got into the attic area and spread along the roof structure presenting a challenge to the Asheville FRD.  The Citizen-Times has a brief raw video taken during the early stage of the fire HERE.

Arson investigators do not expect to know cause of the fire until later today (Tuesday) at the earliest.  At the time of the fire, the woman who lives in the apartment was in the county courthouse seeking a restraining order against her former boyfriend. An arrest warrant has been issued for him.

Early estimates place the damages at $375,000.

Read the full story in the Citizen-Times HERE.  They also have several photo galleries linked from that page.

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Citizen-Times

Posted by on November 10, 2009 • Filed under: explosion, Fires • Tagged: , , ,

Battery Recycling Plant Ablaze

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FIRE BROKE OUT IN A BATTERY RECYLCING FACILITY Saturday afternoon in the Kootenays region of British Columbia.  The fire started around 4 pm Pacific time in the Toxoco Waste Management Facility in Fruitvale.  The plant is still burning on Sunday morning, but the fire, which spread to an adjoining building, has been contained.

The RCMP said stored lithium batteries exploded after a fire started in a small underground building at the Toxco plant, and the flames quickly spread next door to bundles of plastic and cardboard at Alpine Recycling.  They say that there were no people on the property at the time of the fire.  Witnessess say there were several explosions around 5 pm followed by a lot of flames and orange smoke.

Toxco advised the public that sulphur dioxide gas that had been given off during the fire did not pose any risk to the public, as it dissipated into the atmosphere.

The plant recycles materials from lithium batteries and recovers zinc and other metals from alkaline batteries.

Canadian Press has the STORY.

Posted by on November 8, 2009 • Filed under: explosion, fire, HazMat • Tagged: , , , , ,

Hydrogen Explosion Rocks St. Joe

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A LIQUID HYDROGEN STORAGE TANK BLEW UP EARLY FRIDAY MORNING at a soybean processing plant in St. Joseph, Missouri.  The tank was one of six located outside the factory building.

st joe a KCTV

There is no explanation yet for what caused the tank to blow, but there was a product delivery earlier that night.  However, it is not believed to have contributed to the accident.  When the tank exploded around 3:15 am, there were about 20 employees inside and 10 – 15 people outside, some of them truck drivers waiting to pick up loads.

The blast was felt throughout the entire city, waking people from their sleep.  But there have been no reported injuries from it.  Plant officials are saying that the absence of injuries is probably due to the location of the tanks.  Another saving grace was that the tank blew its top, venting the force upward instead of outward.  The debris field extended 80 ft. in one direction and 140 ft. in another.

The explosion started several fires in the tank area, but they were handled without incident by the FD.  However, the had to remain on the scene for several hours keeping re-ignitions from taking place.

WDAF-TV has a video report from the scene:
 

Posted by on November 6, 2009 • Filed under: explosion, HazMat, Videos • Tagged: , , , , ,

OSHA Levies Record Fine for Refinery Fire in 2005

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THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION (OSHA) has just levied penalties against the BP oil giant in the amount of $87,430,000 for its failure to take corrective actions following a deadly explosion at their Texas City, Texas, refinery in March, 2005.  The destructive blast killed 15 people and injured 170 others.  Investigation found that the explosion was caused by a series of safety violations on the site and BP entered into an agreement with OSHA to correct the deficiencies.  However, they failed to do so.

bp a AP

The industrial safety website ISHN.com reports:

“When BP signed the OSHA settlement from the March 2005 explosion, it agreed to take comprehensive action to protect employees. Instead of living up to that commitment, BP has allowed hundreds of potential hazards to continue unabated,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “Fifteen people lost their lives as a result of the 2005 tragedy, and 170 others were injured. An $87 million fine won’t restore those lives, but we can’t let this happen again. Workplace safety is more than a slogan. It’s the law. The U.S. Department of Labor will not tolerate the preventable exposure of workers to hazardous conditions.”

For noncompliance with the terms of the settlement agreement, the BP Texas City Refinery has been issued 270 “notifications of failure to abate” with fines totaling $56.7 million. Each notification represents a penalty of $7,000 times 30 days, the period that the conditions have remained unabated. OSHA also identified 439 new willful violations for failures to follow industry-accepted controls on the pressure relief safety systems and other process safety management violations with penalties totaling $30.7 million.

“BP was given four years to correct the safety issues identified pursuant to the settlement agreement, yet OSHA has found hundreds of violations of the agreement and hundreds of new violations. BP still has a great deal of work to do to assure the safety and health of the employees who work at this refinery,” said acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jordan Barab.

BP’s Texas City refinery is the third-largest in the U. S. with a capacity of 475,000 bbl. of crude per day.

This is the largest fine in OSHA’s history.  The 2nd-largest penalty, $21 million, was also levied against BP.

Thanks to mofiretrain1.

Posted by on November 6, 2009 • Filed under: explosion, News, safety • Tagged: , , ,

Explosion Levels German Rowhouses

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AN EXPLOSION RIPPED THROUGH A GROUP OF ROWHOUSES in Hattersheim am Main near Wiesbaden, Germany, Thursday evening.

Hattersheim a DPA

DPA photo

The blast destroyed the center building of the  apartment-style row and left six dwellings completely destroyed.  There was a resultant fire that was contained to the blast site.  Nobody was killed, but there were at least 15 injured, two of them critically.

hattersheim b DPA

Weisbaden112 / Ehresmann

There is every indication that it was a gas explosion on the ground floor, but it has not yet been confirmed as a certainty.

About 300 fire and rescue personnel responded to the scene and they thoroughly searched the rubble of the three stories on the ground before deciding that there were  no victims buried in the debris.

hattersheim d wiesbaden112

Weisbaden112 / Ehresmann

The Wiesbadener Kurier has the STORY.

Posted by on October 30, 2009 • Filed under: explosion, Fire Rescue Topics • Tagged: , , ,

Kitchen Ka-Boom Sets House Afire

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burrillville a WPRI

WPRI-TV image

A BURRILLVILLE, RHODE ISLAND, MAN IS HOSPITALIZED this morning following and explosion and fire in the kitchen of his duplex home. 

Neighbors in the usually-quiet area said they heard two large “booms” and when they looked outside they saw smoke pouring from the windows of both apartments in the building.

WPRI-TV Ch. 12 reports on this video:

The video report repeats the earlier police declaration that bomb-making materials were found inside the home.  But neighbors who know the occupant are saying that he was a model rocket hobbyist and was often working with his rocket motors and models.  One person told the Providence Journal:

“A model rocket blew up in his face,” she said, citing the explanation she got from the victim as he was helped out of the house. “He said it blew up on the kitchen table.”

Laroque and other neighbors said the injured man, who they identified as Ronald Paquin, has an interest in toy rockets and is often working with them.

The victim is in Rhode Island Hospital and reportedly being treated for 2nd- and 3rd-degree burns to his arms and hands.  Witnesses also said that his face was covered with soot and he couldn’t see when he was taken away by ambulance.  The fire was contained to the downstairs kitchen and was quickly extinguished by the Nasonville FD.

Posted by on October 25, 2009 • Filed under: explosion, Fires, HazMat • Tagged: , , , ,