In Case You've Wondered

My blog is where my wandering thoughts are interspersed with stuff I made up. So, if while reading you find yourself confused about the context, don't feel alone. I get confused, too.

If you're here for the stories, I started another blog: scratchingforchange.blogspot.com

One other thing: sometimes I write words you refuse to use in front of children, or polite company, unless you have a flat tire, or hit your thumb with a hammer.

I don't use them to offend; I use them to embellish.

jescordwaineratgmail.com

Thursday, November 28, 2019

For Some, Thanksgiving Will Be Different

Locally, a chemical plant, that manufactures Butadiene, had an explosion at approximately 1:00 am Friday morning. Houses within miles had shattered windows, doors blown open, and structural damage. The explosion was caught on multiple security cameras, and the videos appeared on the internet within minutes.

As I traveled to the project site over a local bridge, I could see the fire was much more than normally seen in a refinery incident. As opposed to a single fire, the fire was spread over a large area, and was roaring hours after the explosion. The rising sun revealed a huge plume of black smoke, which drifted across the sky to the horizon.

Since I was about seven miles from the facility, I could see the smoke as we worked. Over the morning, it appeared to be subsiding, until about lunchtime. At that time - which I later learned was the time of smaller explosions - the smoke increased.

At about 2:30 in the afternoon, I was leaving a lumber yard, when I heard the dull thump of an explosion. A production tower had exploded, and launched like a rocket a few hundred feet into the air. Things were now getting more than serious, and local emergency officials soon called for an evacuation in a 4 mile radius.




The video above is of the second major explosion. It's something to see, and if you notice the spherical tanks in some of the video, know how these can be huge bombs, the fact they're so close to the flames is more than a concern. If one explodes, the rest will go, and the damage will be flattened homes for miles, the involvement of other close refineries, and the possibility of an event rivaling the Texas City disaster.

Some will have a different Thanksgiving, since they were forced to leave their homes. Many can't do emergency repairs on their homes, and I'm sure their anxiety levels are at the top.

This morning, there are reports the fire is better controlled, will burn down over the next 24 hours, and the spherical tanks are staying cooled with water being pumped by fire fighting crews to the fire monitors. I don't relish their job, and wonder how they can even consider being so close to what could be a certain death. Still they're working, and everyone is praying the event will soon be over.

Update: As of this morning, Friday November 29, the evacuation order was lifted, and it's reported all fires are out. Now, the damage assessment begins, people will have time to survey their damaged homes, and personal injury attorneys will be swamped with telephone calls.

2 comments:

  1. That video was scary. The tower must have gone up hundreds of feet.

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    Replies
    1. It did, and landed inside the refinery.

      It's been decades since and event of this magnitude. What confounds people is there were no deaths. After considering how these things happen, how everyone was out of the unit that exploded, it appears a minor fire became out of control, and everyone was out when it exploded.

      I have a feeling an investigation will reveal a failure in a fire water system, and someone will find they're under a microscope. A well maintained refinery has multiple fire water sources, methods of extinguishing fires in a short period of time, and out of control fires are rare.

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