Truck
hauling ammonium nitrate caught fire in B.C. - NOW EVEN THE TRUCKS WITH AMMONIUM NITRATE ARE CATCHING FIRE. TIME FOR STRICTER SAFETY STANDARDS.
In an earlier blog we reported on the massive and deadly ammonium nitrate explosion occurred a year ago in the West Fertlizer facility in West, Texas. Here is the blog.
Few days ago, a truck carrying ammonium nitrate caught fire in British Columbia. It is obvious from these incidents that there is time for action to prevent additional property damage and/or loss of life.
November 6, 2014
Homes were being evacuated near a stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway west Kamloops, B.C., because a semi-trailer hauling the highly explosive ammonium nitrate caught on fire.
https://sites.google.com/site/metroforensics3/explosion-at-the-west-fertilizer-plant-in-texas
LACK OF PROTECTION FOR
COMMUNITIES AT RISK FROM AMMONIUM NITRATE STORAGE FACILITIES. LACK OF REGULATION AT ALL LEVELS OF
GOVERNMENT.
Few days ago, a truck carrying ammonium nitrate caught fire in British Columbia. It is obvious from these incidents that there is time for action to prevent additional property damage and/or loss of life.
November 6, 2014
Homes were being evacuated near a stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway west Kamloops, B.C., because a semi-trailer hauling the highly explosive ammonium nitrate caught on fire.
KAMLOOPS,
B.C. – Trailers carrying about 40,000 kilograms of highly explosive ammonium
nitrate have been hauled away from the scene of a truck fire that forced the
evacuation of homes along the Trans-Canada Highway near Kamloops, B.C.
The
stretch of highway, about a 20-minute drive west of the city’s downtown core,
was closed for several hours Thursday over concerns for public safety, but
reopened at night after the flames in the truck died down without spreading to
the cargo.
Driver
Rod Cardinal said he was hauling the ammonium nitrate, which can be used in
explosives, from Alberta to the Gibraltar Mine near Williams Lake, B.C., on
Thursday afternoon when he noticed smoke was coming from underneath his carpet.
“I
got pulled over as quickly as I could and I hit it with both my fire
extinguishers, and it did absolutely nothing to it,” he said. “That’s when I
stopped, hopped out, dropped the trailer, pulled the tractor as far as I
could.”
“I
got it about 50 feet away.”
Kamloops
Fire Rescue did not respond to the call because the incident occurred outside
its coverage range.
RCMP
Cpl. Cheryl Bush said police extended an evacuation order to a 1,600-metre
radius of the fire by 3:45 p.m. “out of an abundance of caution,” and residents
were taken to a nearby facility.
Kamloops-Thompson
School District Supt. Karl de Bruijn said the accident also delayed
homeward-bound students aboard three buses.
He
said they were safe and under the care of the drivers.
The
RCMP reported the fire began dying down by the early evening and had not spread
to the trailers.
Local
media were reporting the evacuation order had been rescinded.
The
Ministry of Transportation’s DriveBC website reported the highway had reopened
before 6:30 p.m.
(Kamloops
This Week, CHNL,CFJC)
ANOTHER TEXAS AMMONIUM NITRATE FIRE, ONE YEAR AFTER THE DEADLY WEST TEXAS EXPLOSION THAT KILLED AT LEAST 14 PEOPLE
ATHENS, Texas, May 29, 2014 - A Thursday night fire that sparked at a fertilizer storage facility is almost out, but it made for several tense hours for people living nearby.
The blaze began around 5:45 p.m. and police cordoned off a five-block radius from the Larkin Street facility. No injuries have been reported.
Mayor Jerry Don Vaught told FOX 4 on Thursday night that the facility is used by East Texas Ag Supply and holds ammonium nitrate that is delivered there weekly, but he was unsure of how much was there when the fire sparked.
The facility is a wood-framed building. Its owner has been contacted.
Because of the ammonium nitrate, firefighters couldn’t use water and instead, let the fire burn. Vaught added that the town's fire and police departments were well-prepared to handle the fire and had undergone a lot of training since the April 2013 fertilizer plant explosion in West.
Vaught said that no employees were in the storage facility when the fire started, and the cause of the fire isn’t known yet. He added the facility is in compliance with state regulations.
Vaught said the town is waiting on the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to arrive and evaluate the air before people are allowed back in their homes.
Two shelters have been set up for about 300 to 350 evacuated residents, with bus services to the shelters leaving from the Athens High School parking lot, Gates Community Church and the Goodwill.
No one had arrived at the shelters as of 10:30 p.m. Thursday.
"To tell you the truth, I was all like...not trying to breathe that, you know?" said Athens resident Alan Chavez. "It was crazy. I thought it was gonna explode and I was gonna be running."
The facility is situated alongside the Union Pacific railroad tracks, about three blocks from the Henderson County Courthouse at the center of the town's business district. Vaught said the building has been around for more than 50 years and has always served as a fertilizer storage facility.
"I was doing a lot of praying," Vaught said upon how he felt hearing news of the fire.
CATCHING FIRE. ANOTHER Ammonium nitrate explodes during transport incident
Investigators
have been granted access to the site of a catastrophic truck crash and
explosion that injured eight people south of Charleville in south-west
Queensland.
The
truck driver, two fire officers, and two passers-by remain in hospital with
serious injuries, while three other rescue workers were recovering at their
homes in Charleville.
Emergency
crews have described the scene as "war zone", with the explosion
leaving a five-metre-wide crater in the landscape.
We reported here on another truck accident involving ammonium nitrate catching fire in BC
Truck
hauling ammonium nitrate caught fire in B.C.
Few
weeks ago, we have informed the public of the West Texas fertilizer
warehouse exposion that killed at least 14 people and destroyed dozens
of homes.
LACK OF PROTECTION FOR
COMMUNITIES AT RISK FROM AMMONIUM NITRATE STORAGE FACILITIES. LACK OF REGULATION AT ALL LEVELS OF
GOVERNMENT.
https://sites.google.com/site/metroforensics3/explosion-at-the-west-fertilizer-plant-in-texas
https://sites.google.com/site/metroforensics3/explosion-at-the-west-fertilizer-plant-in-texas
This
is some very serious and extremely dangerous situation we are facing,
considering that there are many proposed fertilizer plants and incresed
road openiongs and mining operations where the ammonium nitrate is
stored, transported, manufactured or used.
What
happened on September 7, 2014 in Queensland?
A road train carrying forty-four 1.2 ton bags of
ammonium nitrate manufactured for explosives use was involved in a single
vehicle accident. The truck, traveling
at night in a remote area, left the road ending-up in a dry creek bed adjacent
to a road bridge and in close proximity to a rail bridge. The vehicle was on fire and the driver was
injured. Two other truck drivers stopped
to assist. The emergency services were
called. A small explosion occurred while
the responding police and fire crews were tending to the injured driver.
They relocated to a position further away from
the burning vehicle, however, a large second explosion occurred. All people at the scene sustained injuries,
most of them very serious. The road train, two fire trucks and road bridge were
destroyed, the rail bridge sustained major structural damage and the police car
sustained significant damage.
Ammonium nitrate is liable to explosion when
exposed to extreme heat or fire, a combination of heat and pressure,
contamination with fuels, organic matter and other chemicals and subjected to
stimuli capable of causing an explosion, or a combination of any of these.
Recommendations
These are general recommendations
and do not
reflect the findings or recommendations of the ongoing investigation
into the
nature and cause of this incident.Besides, when Ammonium Nitrate catches
fire, the truck fire extenguishers are no capable of stopping the
chemical fire.
Transporters review their safety management
systems to ensure the risks with the transport of ammonium nitrate are
controlled to prevent an accident that may lead to an explosion and the
consequences of any accident are minimised including:
1. Ensure vehicle maintenance is of a standard to
prevent road accidents.
2. Drivers are trained, have appropriate
experience and procedures are in place to ensure they are fit for work.
3. The hazards and risks in an emergency
situation involving ammonium nitrate are understood and communicated to those
involved in emergency response.
4. Emergency response procedures are adequate,
well understood and practiced.
5. The vehicle fire fighting equipment is
appropriate and serviceable and operators are trained in its use.
6. The In Vehicle Monitoring System and GPS
tracking systems are operating correctly.
Ensure that the requirements and provisions of
the Australian Code for the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road or Rail are
complied with.
Investigators
have been granted access to the site of a catastrophic truck crash and
explosion that injured eight people south of Charleville in south-west
Queensland.
The
truck driver, two fire officers, and two passers-by remain in hospital with
serious injuries, while three other rescue workers were recovering at their
homes in Charleville.
Emergency
crews have described the scene as "war zone", with the explosion
leaving a five-metre-wide crater in the landscape.
A
two-kilometre exclusion zone was declared after the truck, carting more than 50
tonnes of ammonium nitrate, crashed and rolled about 10:00pm (AEST)
on Friday.
Police
said the blast was so powerful it "disintegrated" the truck,
destroyed firefighting vehicles and two bridges, and blew a hole in the
Mitchell Highway.
Authorities
said it was a miracle no-one lost their life.
You
have a look at the road behind you and there is no road behind you - it's going
to take weeks, if not months, to clean up.
Fire
Inspector Warren Buckley
The
site of the explosion was deemed too unsafe for
authorities to enter on Sunday, but police and forensic experts have
now been granted access.
Fire
Inspector Warren Buckley said investigators would be looking at the incident
for some time.
"You
have a look at the road behind you and there is no road behind you - it's going
to take weeks, if not months, to clean up," he said.
"This
is a first in 26 years of firefighting - it's not often we come across these
major events and our crews are extremely lucky."
Assistant
Fire Commissioner Tom Dawson praised the actions of the officers.
"Without
doubt, the courage shown by the crews and to experience this experience and
survive it - I've got the greatest admiration for those on scene," he
said.
Three
remain in hospital
The
33-year-old truck driver was in an induced coma at the Royal Brisbane Hospital,
with his pregnant wife by his side.
Two
firefighters remain in the Toowoomba hospital with internal bruising and
serious damage to their ear drums and were in a stable condition.
Rescue
crews were trying to extract the driver from the truck when they found out
there was ammonium nitrate inside.
They
were making a mad dash from the truck when it exploded.
Inspectors
said it was the slight rise of 1.5 metres from where the truck rolled under the
bridge to where they were standing that ultimately save their lives.
It
was the second accident in Queensland involving transportation of the hazardous
chemical. The last was in Taroom in 1972.
The
owner of the truck, Kalari, said it was deeply saddened that people were
injured in the explosion and that their welfare was the company's priority.
In
a statement, Kalari said it had stopped the service route pending more
information about the incident.
Authorities
preparing 100-kilometre detour
Queensland
Transport Minister Scott Emerson said officers from his department were
investigating the accident and the road would be closed for some time.
The
Department of Main Roads was preparing a 100-kilometre detour to Cunnamulla for
traffic in the area, along the Charleville-Bollon Road.
"There
are rules in place both in terms of signage and particular routes that they are
allowed to carry dangerous goods and obviously we'll be talking to police about
whether anything was done wrong," Mr Emerson said.
"The
road will remain closed indefinitely until the area is deemed safe.
"The
Department of Main Roads is still working on an interim detour."
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