MEC&F Expert Engineers : 07/22/17

Saturday, July 22, 2017

Two people were injured when a gas tanker caught fire at Modern Gas Sales, causing a scorching blaze that melted two trucks in Piiston Twp., PA






PITTSTON TWP., PA — Two people were injured when a gas tanker caught fire this morning, causing a scorching blaze that melted two trucks as firefighters raced to prevent a massive explosion at a fuel distribution facility.


Firefighters were called to Modern Gas Sales at 2192 Glendale Road about 10:30 a.m. Friday to a report of an explosion neighbors reported seeing and feeling.


“I felt it through the ground,” said John Cottrell, 53, who lives down the street. “I saw the black smoke and the flames.”


Neighbor Carol Smicherko, 58, said she was outside talking in her driveway when she heard three explosions.


“Then we saw the black smoke immediately and then we heard (a hissing sound) real loud,” she said. “We just panicked. I went in the house, grabbed my car and grabbed my dogs and we ran down the street in the car. ... It was very terrifying.”


Township Assistant Fire Chief Tony Angelella Jr. said responding crews knew there was serious trouble as they made their way to the scene and saw thick, black smoke coming from the area.


Crews learned that two employees had been in a repair shop behind the facility working on a tanker truck holding about 3,500 gallons of liquid propane when the vehicle caught fire for reasons unknown, he said. As the vehicle burned, it began venting fuel that fed the blaze and led to two vehicles being destroyed, he said.


“It melted two of the trucks right down,” Angelella said. “It looks like a bomb went off right now.”


A third truck also began venting fuel during the blaze, but firefighters sprayed water on it and prevented it from melting down as well, he said. After that, they worked to keep everything around the tanker cool while the fire burned out, he said.


The explosions neighbors reported hearing were likely parts of the vehicles bursting, he said.


The two employees were taken to hospitals. One was first taken to Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton, then transported to Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Regional Burn Center with critical injuries, according to Wendy Wilson, Geisinger spokeswoman.


The other victim was taken to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Twp. and has been treated and released, she said.


The injured employees have not been identified.


Angelella said neighbors were not in any danger as of Friday afternoon.


“We did evacuate them because early on in the incident we did have potential for it to escalate and be a lot worse,” Angelella said. “It could have been a whole lot worse. The tanks did not explode. Their vents went off so the tanks stayed in place.”


State police and Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials were on scene investigating the cause of the fire.




==============



PITTSTON TWP., PA— Two workers were injured and two propane tanker trucks destroyed Friday morning in a fire at Modern Gas Sales Inc. that could have caused more damage if a tank exploded, a fire official said.

One of the men suffered burns and was flown by helicopter to Lehigh Valley Hospital near Allentown, said Pittston Township Assistant Fire Chief Tony Angelella Jr.

“The tanks did not explode. Their vents went off so the tanks stayed in place. It could have been a lot worse if a tank had exploded. We wouldn’t be standing in this area right now,” Angelella told reporters as he spoke to them across the road from the company’s headquarters on Route 502.


The fire reportedly started while one of the trucks was being worked on in a maintenance area, Angelella said. The cause is under investigation, and the names of the two injured men were not available. One of the men was treated and released from Geisinger Wyoming Valley in Plains Township, said Geisinger spokeswoman Wendy Wilson. The other man with more serious injuries was treated at Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton before he was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital, she said. His condition was not available.

“It appears to be a vehicle fire that became a propane fire,” Angelella said. “That’s what it looks like at this point. I don’t know if they were working on the actual tank itself.”

State police and a man wearing a vest marked OSHA (the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration) were on scene. “They’re asking questions and investigating further,” Angelella said.

Fire departments and first responders from Luzerne and Lackawanna counties were dispatched to the facility at approximately 10:30 a.m. Residents reported explosions and smoke billowing from the property that sits along Spring Brook.

Dennis Fritz Jr., who lives about a quarter mile from the propane-delivery business, said the sound of an explosion drew him outside.

“I heard one big boom and I came out here,” he said as he sat on his porch with father Dennis Fritz Sr.

“You heard it hissing,” the elder Fritz said. “It sounded like a jet taking off from the airport.” The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport is a few miles from their home.

“And then there was another boom,” the elder Fritz went on.

“Then, there was another little boom,” the son added.

Another neighbor who lives much closer said her house was shaking. She also heard a hissing sound. “I don’t know whether it was air coming out of something,” she said. The woman who declined to provide her name said she called 911.

The combination of the location and the reports of an explosion caused some alarm for Angelella. It heightened as he approached and saw smoke in the distance. When firefighters arrived, they found two trucks ablaze and a third tanker about to go.

“There was a column of fire,” Angelella said.

Each of the trucks has a 3,500-gallon tank with a top vent that’s activated as internal pressure builds to a release point, Angelella explained.

The booms and explosions that residents heard were probably from the trucks’ tires and transmissions blowing up, Angelella said. The hissing was from the vents.

“Two of them burned right to the ground. The third (truck) began to vent so that our guys were able to get some water on it and stop the third one from going,” he said. “At that point, it’s a matter of keeping everything cool around it and just let the fire burn off.”

Reporters were not allowed onto the property, but Angelella described the aftermath of the blaze.

“It looks like a bomb went off right now. So there’s two trucks that are burned to the ground. There’s a little bit of damage to the building because of the heat and the tanks are blackened and burned up,” he said.

No firefighters were injured, Angelella said, as they battled flames in temperatures in the high 80s. Damage was contained to the vehicles.

There was an issue getting water to the scene due to the long distance firefighters had to run hoses from hydrants. Water tankers from surrounding departments were brought in as backups. Firefighters attacked the flames from the ground and an aerial ladder truck.

Angelella said neighbors in the immediate vicinity of the blaze were evacuated, and the roadway was shut down for several hours.

A 26-year-old roofer with H& J Roofing Company was transported to Norwalk Hospital with injuries after he fell from the roof of a Wilton, CT worksite



WILTON, Conn. -- A worker was taken to the hospital after falling off a roof in Wilton on Friday morning.

Wilton Police received a 911 call at around 10 a.m. from a home on Olmstead Hill Road about a worker who had fallen off the roof. Police said the 26-year-old lost his balance and fell from a second-floor landing onto the ground below.

The victim sustained non-life threatening injuries and was taken to Norwalk Hospital. He was working for a Norwalk roofing company at the time of the accident, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the incident as a work place accident.

=================


Worker injured after falling from roof in Wilton

By Pat Tomlinson
Published 11:50 am, Friday, July 21, 2017

WILTON, CT — An unidentified 26-year-old roofer was transported to Norwalk Hospital with injuries after he fell from the roof of a Wilton worksite Friday, police said.

Wilton police responded to reports of an injured worker at 77 Olmstead Hill Road around 10 a.m. Friday.

Police said an employee of J Roofing Company, out of Norwalk, was working on the residence’s second floor roof landing when he suddenly lost his balance and fell to the ground.

The victim’s injuries were not life threatening, said Lt. Rob Kluk, a police spokesman.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating the incident as a work place accident.

Matthew Walter Kantala IV, 36, of Elberton killed at the Blue Sky Quarry when an 8-ton rock broke away and crushed him to death in Oglethorpe County, Georgia



A photo showing portion of the Blue Sky Quarry in Oglethorpe County. (Elberton Granite Association Facebook)  






Oglethorpe County, Georgia

Oglethorpe quarry worker killed when crushed by rock


The man killed while working in a granite quarry in Oglethorpe County has been identified as Matthew Walter Kantala IV, 36, of Elberton.

Kantala was killed in a work-related accident that occurred shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday at the Blue Sky Quarry located off Veribest Road in a northeastern section of the county, according to Oglethorpe County Deputy Coroner Mark Bridges.

Kantala was drilling a section of granite when a large section of rock broke away, according to Bridges.

“He went to move out of the way, lost his balance and fell,” Bridges said.
 
Kantala fell about 16 feet onto some more rock, but the large rock, estimated at 16,000 pounds, fell on him, according to the coroner.

The Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office said the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is also investigating.



====================


Oglethorpe County granite worker killed in quarry fall


A 36-year-old Elberton man was killed Wednesday while working in a granite quarry in Oglethorpe County, authorities said.

Oglethorpe County Deputy Coroner Mark Bridges said he couldn’t yet release the man’s name. The fatality occurred shortly after 10 a.m. at the Blue Sky Quarry located off Veribest Road in a northeastern section of the county, according to Bridges.

The man was killed when he fell while drilling rock, Bridges said. The Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office said the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is also investigating.


Here is the gofuckme page:
 https://www.gofundme.com/support-for-the-kantala-family

Support for the Kantala Family


As many of you know Matthew Kantala of Elberton was killed tragically today at the Granite quarry where he worked. He was only 35 and leaves behind a wife and 3 children. He worked hard and provided 100% of the family income. As you can imagine the coming weeks will be so hard emotionally as well as financially for his family. Please donate if you can, anything will greatly help with his final expenses as well as support for this sweet family. Thank you.

TEXAS HAS THE DEADLIEST ROADS: A male driver and 2 children killed in Houston after a speeding pickup truck read-ended their car



A man and two young children were killed Friday night after a truck crashed into their car.

Houston Police investigators say crews were working to close the north Beltway for weekend construction at Aldine Westfield.

Traffic was heavy and moving slowly. Investigators say the driver of a pickup was speeding and ran into the back of a car. There was a man and two young children inside, the impact killed all three of them.

The impact sent their car crashing into a Tahoe, which flipped on its side. It caused a chain of crashes, seven vehicles were involved in all.

The man who died and the two children were all wearing safety belts.

Investigators say the driver of the truck will likely face charges for speeding. He did not appear to be under the influence at the time of the crash.

No one else was seriously hurt.

A Cessna 208 Caravan float plane operated by Tailwind Air Service crashed on the lower East River in New York City after a collapse of left float struts during takeoff








EAST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) -- The FDNY responded to a disabled seaplane in the East River after its pontoon apparently broke.

It happened around 5:35 p.m. near East 20th Street on Friday.

"We have a small child, but it all obviously worked out really well," said Bettina Glenning, a passenger.

They are back on shore and smiling.

"I'm not going tonight anywhere man, I'm going to go have a glass of tequila somewhere!" said Bill Lawrence, a passenger.

They're laughing now because they can. In fact, Bill is a comedy writer. He's the creator of "Scrubs," "Cougar Town" and "Spin City."


They were all safely rescued from their crippled seaplane after the pilot aborted their takeoff on the East River.

"The plane attempted to take-off three times, on the third time they hit the water they injured three struts on the left side of the plane causing the plane to list," said Dep. Asst. Chief Michael Gala, FDNY.

Moments later, nine passengers and the pilot climbed out onto the plane's pontoon and waited to be rescued.

Police and fire department rescue boats were there within minutes. Charlotte Lawrence was on-board with her father.

"Once you knew that we were safe, it was fine, we made a new friend, we were all smiling eventually, but it was scary initially," Charlotte said.

"Comes up hits the water lightly, comes up a little higher and you think, oh are we taking off, it comes down hits the water, when it went up like 20 feet you knew it wasn't going to gently touch the water, so that was a little freaky," Bill said.

The plane was supposed to be headed to East Hampton. What prompted the pilot to abort the takeoff was not immediately clear. Federal authorities are investigating.

But weather on the river was not a factor.

"Today was a beautiful day, it was light winds, we had an outbound current, it was actually nice conditions on the water," said Lt. Joe Grasso, NYPD Harbor Unit.


======================




Ten people, including television producer Bill Lawrence of "Scrubs" and "Spin City" fame, were rescued from a seaplane after it made an emergency landing in the East River on Friday evening, officials said.

An NYPD Harbor Unit boat picked up the ten people, who were wearing life vests and sitting in the plane after it went down in the water, FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Michael Gala said. Among them were a pilot and nine passengers, including Lawrence, who described the plane as "our plane" in an Instagram post.

Lawrence posted a video of himself aboard the plane as it landed in the river, along with photos of the other passengers, some of whom were sitting on the aircraft's pontoons as they waited to be rescued.

"I don't like this," Lawrence can be heard saying in the video right before the plane hits the water. In the caption for the video, he wrote, "Just landing in the east river. No big deal." The video has since been deleted.



====================






Status: Preliminary
Date: Friday 21 July 2017
Time: 17:30
Type:
Cessna 208 Caravan
Operator: Tailwind Air Service
Registration: N802TW
C/n / msn: 20800300
First flight: 1999
Crew: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants:
Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants:
Total: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 10
Airplane damage: Unknown
Location: Lower East River, New York, NY ( United States of America)
Phase: Landing (LDG)
Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport: New York-Marine Air Terminal, NY (QNY), United States of America
Destination airport: East Hampton Airport, NY (HTO/KHTO), United States of America
Narrative:
The aircraft experienced a collapse of left float struts during takeoff attempts from New York Skyports Inc Seaplane Base, on the lower East River in New York City, New York. The floatplane came to rest with the left hand wing tip in the water. The ten occupants onboard were not injured and were rescued. The aircraft was towed to the shore.