Massive blaze rages at fuel depot

A fire is continuing to blaze at a fuel depot in Hertfordshire after a series of large explosions sent black smoke drifting across south-east England.
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has visited the scene of the blasts which injured 43 people, two seriously.

A fire chief described the incident at the Buncefield fuel depot near Hemel Hempstead, after 0600 GMT, as possibly the largest in peacetime Europe.

The fire, which police believe was an accident, could burn for another day.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4517962.stm

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1205711,00.html

60 BILLION gallons according to sky.com

"Police have said that although the situation is now under control, they expect more blasts at the site, which stores 16 million litres of petrol, kerosene and diesel."

More than 60 billion gallons of fuel erupted in a ball of flames hundreds of feet in the sky, creating an acrid cloud of smoke which is stretching for miles and moving south-eastwards.

I'm guessing that there's a typo somewhere - obviously 60 billion gallons is far more than 16 million litres.

The B.B.C. put it thus In total, 20 petrol tanks were involved, each said to hold three million gallons of fuel which suggests that Sky need to switch a "b" to an "m" - though given that it's a Murdoch enterprise a dash of inflating figures for drama.......

With crude oil at over $60 a barrel (35 British gallons), it would be over $100 billion. It would also be 1,000 gallons for every person in Britain. Quite a lot, really.

A Google search (http://www.google.com/search?hs=OiZ&hl=en&lr=&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=Buncefield+%22million+litres%22&btnG=Search) implies the site capacity is 77 million litres (though that might be of just one type of fuel - the orginal document seems to be no longer available).

Accidents mostly happen when you slack off on security. End result: a lot more CO2 up there.

A series of explosions tore through an oil depot near London early today sending flames and smoke shooting hundreds of feet into the sky.

.......

There were unconfirmed reports of casualties at the depot. Initial reports said witnesses heard a plane going overhead shortly before the first explosions - but police were quick to dismiss that suggestion, insisting the incident was an "accident".

.......

The first blast happened just after 6am at the fuel terminal in Leverstock Green, which is believed to supply aviation fuel via pipes to Heathrow airport.

The force of the blast - which was heard up to 40 miles away - sent flames shooting 200ft into the sky.



http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article332433.ece

oil facilities. The oil you sell goes up in price by billions of dollars and paying the thugs off costs maybe a million. What a sweet deal. The best part is: an explosion anywhere pushes the price up everywhere.

Every oil producer has cause to sabotage every other. Welcome to the new century.

Initial reports said witnesses heard a plane going overhead shortly before the first explosions

Given its proximity to two of London's airports, this isn't exactly unusual. (The plane flying over, not the explosions.)

crash into the tanks, or the suicide bomber didn't mean to explode at that location, then it could be considered an accident. I don't believe these facilities just explode. Someone has some esplainin to do.

"Clues that could explain how the blasts happened may have been devoured by the fire." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4520148.stm

pretty convenient, and i noticed that in the 'personal accounts' section of sky news, reports that mentioned a plane were omitted as time went on following the event. also, the police came out REAL fast to deny the plane story. a little too fast imho.

CNN just now said that "Police say the act was definitely not an act of terrorism."

But then, there's this ominous paragraph from an earlier AP story...

http://tinyurl.com/bvmuf

Police said the blasts appeared to be accidental, though they occurred just four days after an al-Qaida videotape appeared on the Internet calling for attacks on facilities carrying oil "stolen" from Muslims in the Middle East.

I shouldn't be surprised that there haven't been many questions, but I am.

That would be pretty hard for them to deny.

i can only imagine what it was like for that photographer who got right up about a block away. they say 24 hours IF they can round up all the foam in britain.

quite the fire.

I spent two years (67-69) as an exchange student about 5 miles from Hemel Hempstead. Back then it was a lovely area in the greenbelt around London. Rich in history. Just up the road was one of Henry VIII's hunting lodges and the ruins of an ancient Roman villa where unearthed in the nearby river valley that separated the American run school from nearby Radford.

:)

the oil companies found a way to drive up prices.

More than likely the companies that jointly own the facility are going to pay through the nose for destroying adjascent property. They may also be liable under environmental laws and both of them are going to have a LOT to answer for once this is over. You can bet that maintenance records are already being scoured for possible lapses. This is NOT GOOD for either of the companies involved, and the effect on oil prices appears to be minimal to nonexistent judging by the market this morning.

can you say "boom"?

that is a big boom

That's a distance of 150 miles, minimum.