Firefighters tackle inferno

HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, England – Firefighters were tackling a massive blaze at a key oil depot north of London early yesterday, after explosions sent orange fireballs and a pall of thick black smoke into the sky over southern England.

Some 150 firefighters at the Buncefield depot near the town of Hemel Hempstead, around 40 kilometres northwest of London, began fighting the inferno around midnight on Sunday, hoping to smother the blaze with foam. The explosions and fire happened before dawn Sunday, leaving 43 people injured in what police said appeared to be an accidental blast.”It’s like it’s doomsday,” witness Richard Ayres said.The three explosions tore parts of walls off buildings in an industrial park, smashed windows and dented doors of homes, ripped tiles off house roofs, burned trees and at least half a dozen cars over a wide area, an AFP reporter said.Witnesses said the first ball of orange fire rose an estimated 60 to 90 metres into the sky.Hertfordshire’s chief fire officer Roy Wilsher had to wait to receive some 250 000 litres of foam concentrate from around the country before ordering the firefighting operation to begin in earnest, such was the size of the blaze.Only seven of the 26 oil container tanks at the depot appeared to have escaped the flames.The Total and Texaco oil depot was able to store 150 000 tonnes of various fuels and oil derivatives.Until the attempt to envelope the blaze began at midnight, the firefighters had contained the fire’s expansion by pumping a curtain of water at the flames and the still-intact oil containers.Fears were growing, especially in the British press, over the toxic nature of the smoke cloud thrown up by the blaze, estimated to be some 230 kilometres wide.However several experts said that the fumes presented no immediate health hazard.Hertfordshire Police’s Chief Constable Frank Whiteley promised a full probe into the fire.Whiteley said 43 people were hurt, most with minor injuries.However, a hospital official said one person’s condition was serious, but not critical.-Nampa-AFPThe explosions and fire happened before dawn Sunday, leaving 43 people injured in what police said appeared to be an accidental blast.”It’s like it’s doomsday,” witness Richard Ayres said.The three explosions tore parts of walls off buildings in an industrial park, smashed windows and dented doors of homes, ripped tiles off house roofs, burned trees and at least half a dozen cars over a wide area, an AFP reporter said.Witnesses said the first ball of orange fire rose an estimated 60 to 90 metres into the sky.Hertfordshire’s chief fire officer Roy Wilsher had to wait to receive some 250 000 litres of foam concentrate from around the country before ordering the firefighting operation to begin in earnest, such was the size of the blaze.Only seven of the 26 oil container tanks at the depot appeared to have escaped the flames.The Total and Texaco oil depot was able to store 150 000 tonnes of various fuels and oil derivatives.Until the attempt to envelope the blaze began at midnight, the firefighters had contained the fire’s expansion by pumping a curtain of water at the flames and the still-intact oil containers.Fears were growing, especially in the British press, over the toxic nature of the smoke cloud thrown up by the blaze, estimated to be some 230 kilometres wide.However several experts said that the fumes presented no immediate health hazard.Hertfordshire Police’s Chief Constable Frank Whiteley promised a full probe into the fire.Whiteley said 43 people were hurt, most with minor injuries.However, a hospital official said one person’s condition was serious, but not critical.-Nampa-AFP