http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2013/12/explosion_at_birmingham_apartm....

Explosion at Birmingham apartment complex kills one, sends 8 to hospital

December 17, 2013 at 6:33 AM, updated December 17, 2013 at 11:38 AM

A pre-dawn explosion rocked a Gate City apartment complex in Birmingham, Alabama Tuesday December 17, 2013 that sent 8 people to the hospital. Residents watched as a search continued through the rubble left from two five bedroom apartments that were destroyed in the explosion.

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- A woman has been found dead in the rubble of this morning's Gate City explosion. She suffered crushing injuries and burns, and rescuers were unable to get a pulse from her at the scene.

Just moments before, a man was pulled out alive in critical condition. He was taken to UAB Hospital. Birmingham Fire Chief Ivor Brooks said rescue teams sprang into action after hearing the man calling to them from under the rubble. 

Workers began shouting to one another, "Hey, we got somebody, it's time to get busy," Brooks said.

Earlier today, five children and two adults were taken to the hospital following the pre-dawn explosion apparently involving a gas line at Birmingham's Gate City apartments.

"This explosion was a tragedy for the family and this community. It is really a Christmas miracle that we didn't experience an even greater loss of life,'' said Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper. "There are so many other things that could have gone wrong in the response and rescue effort but our public safety personnel really demonstrated their skill and expertise in this operation."

BFD said they are packing up and turning the investigation over to Alagasco at this point. "It's up to Alagasco to clean up the rest," Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service spokesman C.W. Mardis said Tuesday morning. 

Mayor William Bell visited the scene earlier this morning and prayed with victim's families, Mardis said.

Mardis said the five children and two adults taken to the hospitals this morning had varying degrees of injury, but none were believed life-threatening. He said two, five-bedroom apartments were "literally destroyed." 

A neighbor said debris from the blast showered other units with bricks and debris. Gate City resident Viola Bozelan said the explosion happened around 1:30 a.m.

"It shook my house," Bozelan told AL.com. "I came out and the whole building was on fire."

Bozelan said she and a friend once lived in the building that exploded."I thought an airplane had crashed down here," she said.

Taris Richardson, who said he has lived in the community for 20 years, said the smell of gas has been a problem in the apartment complex going back three years, especially during the summer and at a building adjacent to one that exploded.

"You can smell gas right there," Richardson said, pointing to the building.

Gary Williams, with the Salvation Army, said the organization is on site to provide snacks, water, coffee, or cook a meal for firefighters and those affected. "We're just going to do what it takes," Williams said.

Residents in the immediate area have been complaining that water in the area is muddy and undrinkable. Mardis said that can happen when firefighting -- fire hoses pull a large volume of water and can stir up sediment in the system.

"We will have some dirt in the lines," he said. He said Birmingham Water Works is "working feverishly" to fix that.

 

Girl Burned In North Richland Hills House Explosion 

http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Girl-Burned-After-House-Explosion-...

A family is in shock and a young girl is at Parkland Hospital after being badly burned in an explosion in North Richland Hills on Saturday afternoon.

The explosion happened around 4:06 p.m. inside a home in the 7900 block of Harwood Road just east of Davis Road.

Seven people were inside the house at the time of the explosion, but only one young girl was injured.

Ohio Houses Leveled in Possible Natural Gas Explosion (Dec 20)
Residents are shocked that two houses are now gone and amazed that no one was killed after an explosion rocked an Elyria neighborhood Friday night.

Only piles of rubble remain of the two-story brick colonial house at 118 Columbia Avenue in Elyria.

Michael and Diane Page live right next door.

“It was the loudest explosion I have ever heard. I thought a plane crashed. My son thought a nuclear explosion,” Michael Page said.

Investigators continue to search for the cause of Friday’s house explosion in Elyria, that could be felt and heard for miles.

One of the possible causes that authorities are looking into, is a natural gas leak in the vacant home on Columbia Avenue.

The blast also pulverized the home next door, where 56-year-old Christine Mickolick was watching television. Mickolick told FOX 8, “I was in the chair and when the explosion happened, there was just that loud roar and I became airborne with the chair, and was thrown about 20 feet across the living room.”

Mickolick said the explosion next door was so powerful that it blew out the walls of her home, but somehow Mickolick and her son, who was upstairs at the time, walked away with minor injuries.

“If anything happened to my son, that would be devastating to have to run up the stairs to find him, so the fact that his entire wall was blown out; so as he tried to scramble to his feet, all he saw were the flames, which were higher than our house, and so that side of the house was just a wall of flames,” she said.

Sources

http://fox8.com/2013/12/21/at-least-8-homes-damaged-in-explosion/

http://fox8.com/2013/12/23/neighbor-in-house-explosion-heard-loud-r...

http://county10.com/2013/12/25/breaking-natural-gas-compressor-fire...

 Legacy Resources natural gas compressor explosion injured one at N...

(Riverton, Wyo.) – An explosion and flash fire at a Legacy Resources Natural Gas Compressor Station at mid-morning Christmas Day injured one man. According to Fremont County Fire Protection District Trainer Dan Oakley who was at the scene, “there was an obvious explosion as the 30′x30′ compressor station’s windows and a large overhead door were all blown out, there was extensive damage inside the building but structurally, the building is still standing,” he said via phone from the scene. Oakley also said said someone, “and presumably the man burned in the fire,” had attempted to use a dry chemical fire extinguisher to put out the fire. “There was evidence that a fire extinguisher  had been used inside the building.”

Oakley said the fire persisted from a pressurized natural gas line, and after the gas had been turned off by company personnel, county fire personnel went in to “cool off the regular combustibles” inside the structure.

The fire occurred in Legacy’s North Alkali field, which sits about three to four miles east of the Sand Draw Road “at the corrals,” Oakley said.

Devon Energy Riverton Manager Bill Skelton said several personnel from Devon’s Sand Draw location rushed to the scene to assist Legacy personnel after the explosion was first reported.

Oakley said the man who was burned and taken to Riverton Memorial Hospital, “was from this incident.” The man’s condition is not known. Skelton said he had also heard the man had been burned, but did not know to what extent.

A call to Legacy Resources’ headquarters in Texas had not been returned by mid-day on Christmas.

Cause of the explosion is under investigation

Original post:  

(Riverton, Wyo.) –  An explosion and a fire at a natural gas compressor station about 10 a.m. Christmas morning east of the Sand Draw area in Central Fremont County has apparently injured one worker. Fremont County Fire District units are en route at this time. The injured worker was rushed to Riverton Memorial Hospital by private vehicle with burns to his hands and face, according to initial reports. Fire units had not yet reached the scene as of 11:40 a.m. which was reportedly five miles east of the Sand Draw Road.

When contacted by phone this morning en route to the fire, FCFPD Trainer Dan Oakley said units had not yet arrived at the scene, but he said he understood that a compressor station was on fire. He said firefighters would wait for the compressor’s operator to arrive and shut down the natural gas flowing into the station. Operator of the compressor station was not immediately identified.

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1390833/four-dead-scores-inj...

Four dead, scores injured as 'gas' explosions rip through Sichuan shopping mall

picture link: http://english.cri.cn/11354/2013/12/27/2561s805367.htm

Four people were killed and at least 37 others were wounded when a series of powerful explosions rocked a shopping mall in downtown Luzhou city, Sichuan province, on Thursday evening, scol.com.cn reports.

The blasts, believed to have been caused by a gas leak at a restaurant, occurred at around 10.40pm at the Moer shopping centre in Jiangyang district.

The gas reportedly leaked throughout the first and second floors, which caused the ensuing fires to spread quickly.

The explosions caused the plaza’s second-floor ceiling and walls to collapse. The impact was so strong that neighbouring buildings’ windowpanes shattered and a nearby bus station collapsed, damaging three taxis, the report said.

Witnesses said they saw smoke billowing from a building downtown and a section of road littered with shattered glass.

The general labour union office building next to the mall was also engulfed in flames.

Firemen were able to quell the blaze on Friday morning, although traffic was still blocked at several main roads in the area.

http://kstp.com/news/stories/S3269573.shtml

400-500 People Displaced after Gas Tank Explosion at Apartment Complex in Rogers

Minnesota

http://www.newson6.com/story/24374594/pipeline-explosion-causes-lar...

Pipeline Explosion Causes Large Fire Near Milfay

Posted: Jan 06, 2014 12:58 PM ESTUpdated: Jan 06, 2014 6:47 PM EST

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/06/new-york-trans...

Michael Winter, USA TODAY4:32 p.m. EST January 6, 2014

Pedestrians scatter, workers evacuate high rise near Time Life Building, but no injuries.

An underground transformer exploded and burned in Midtown Manhattan on Monday, sending pedestrians scattering and prompting the evacuation of about 1,500 people from a 26-story high rise, New York authorities said.

No injuries were reported and power was not interrupted to the area.

Black smoke billowed after the transformer blew up just after 2 p.m. ET near the Time Life Building, on West 51st street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues, according tonews reports.

Buildings were shaken by loud explosions, according to videos shot by witnesses.

The New York Fire Department reported the fire under control at 4:30 p.m.

http://www.necn.com/01/07/14/Manhole-explosions-reported-in-Salem-M...

http://rt.com/news/japan-chemical-factory-blast-357/

Explosion at Japanese chemical factory causes multiple causalities

Published time: January 09, 2014 07:05 
Edited time: January 09, 2014 12:56

An ambulance (C) parks at a plant of Japanese chemical company Mitsubishi Materials in Yokkaichi in Mie prefecture, central Japan on January 9, 2014 following an explosion that killed at least five people and injured a dozen more

A powerful blast has struck a chemical factory in central Japan, killing at least five and leaving 17 injured, reports local press. Japanese police say the explosion was triggered by a chemical reaction inside the plant.

The incident happened at a chemical plant owned by Mitsubishi in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture. The factory produces silicon materials for the international firm.

"There was some explosion triggered by some sort of chemical reaction during plant operations," said a police spokesman in Mie, central Japan to AFP.

Japanese Broadcaster NHK reported that at least five people had died in the blast at the Mitsubishi Materials Corp chemicals plant. The local fire department said they could not confirm any casualties, but did tell Reuters that 17 people had been injured, five of them seriously.

Maintenance of a heat exchanger used in the production of silicon products was reportedly being carried out when the blast occurred.

"Some 170 people were working at the plant," a Tokyo-based spokesman said. "Operation at the plant has been suspended. We still don't know the cause of the explosion."

Twin explosions struck a chemical plant in south-west Japan in April 2012, killing one person and injuring another two. The blasts happened at Mitsui Chemicals in Yamaguchi prefecture after workers tried to shut down part of the plant following a problem in a different sector. The massive blast, which was caught on video, damaged hundreds of homes nearby.

Gas Line Explosion - January 10

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/regional/artikel.php?ID=297751

Tuesday, 14 January 2014

Source: citifmonline.com

Four injured in gas explosion

About four students of the Nyaneba Health Assistant Training School in Tema are currently on admission at the Tema General Hospital after a gas explosion at the school.

The five, according to reports, were badly burnt in the explosion which happened last night.

An eyewitness who helped in taking some of the injured students to the hospital told Citi News that the timely intervention by the Ghana Fire Service helped the situation.

Narrating the incident, he noted that “I was in my house, which is adjacent to the Nursing training school when I heard a voice over there screaming help me, help me! So I quickly went for a fire extinguisher and rushed to the building.”

Meanwhile, the Ghana National Fire Service has launched investigations into the fire.

http://www.thanhniennews.com/index/pages/20140116-6-dead-in-vietnam...

http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/four-killed-as-explosions-rip-t...

Four killed as explosions rip through plants in two US state

January 21 2014

Omaha: Explosions in two US states, one at an animal feed plant in Nebraska and another at a steel plant in Oklahoma, killed at least four people and injured almost a dozen on Monday, authorities said. 
An explosion and fire flattened part of an animal feed plant in Omaha, Nebraska, killing two people and injuring at least 10 others, authorities said. 
In the Omaha incident, about 38 employees were working at the International Nutrition plant at midmorning when there was an explosion and part of the building collapsed, interim Fire Chief Bernard Kanger told a news conference. 
One body has been recovered and the other is expected to be recovered on Tuesday from the industrial accident, Kanger said. Of the 10 injured, four were in critical condition, he said. 

All employees have been accounted for, but authorities are not sure if there were any visitors in the plant, he said.

In a separate incident, two workers likely "burned to death" when a furnace exploded at about 4 pm local time (2200 GMT) at an Oklahoma steel plant, a Marshall County Sheriff's Office dispatcher said.

A third person was injured at Mid American Steel and Wire in Madill, Oklahoma, but treated for burns and released from a local hospital, said Madill Fire Department Fire Chief Keith Pruitt. 
The identities of those killed and injured were not immediately known, the officials said. 
The plant, which was established in 2004, according to its website, did not respond to requests for comment. It is about 120 miles (193 km) southeast of Oklahoma City. 
Officials said investigations into the causes of both explosions and the fire would take days, if not weeks.
In the Omaha, Nebraska incident, Forklift operator Kendrick Houston told the Omaha World-Herald newspaper he was returning to work from a break when the floor began to tremble. 
"There was this real loud crackling sound and the lights went off," Houston was quoted as saying on the paper's website. "I saw a spark and there was a big ball of flame coming from the southwest corner of the building." 
Houston said he fled the building. He then tried to go back in to find his co-workers, but heat and smoke forced him to turn back, he added. 
Nate Lewis, a production line worker, told the newspaper that the building caved in from the third floor. He also said it turned pitch black inside the plant, and that he crawled through the rubble to safety. 
About 50 Omaha firefighters battled the blaze and rescued five people from the rubble, Kanger said. 
Representatives of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) were also at the scene. 
The grain handling industry, which includes feed plants, is considered "high hazard," due partly to the risk of fires and explosions from the accumulation of combustible grain dust, according to the OSHA website. 
OSHA, along with the Office of the State Fire Marshal, was also investigating the Oklahoma blast, Pruitt said. 
Privately owned International Nutrition makes feed, vitamins and nutritional products for animals. 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/explosion-fire-hit-pickering-...

►

Pickering fire 1:57

An explosion that levelled a building at a Pickering Water Treatment plant — only blocks away from the city's Nuclear power plant— east of Toronto is being investigated by the Ontario Fire Marshal.

The explosion happened after 10 a.m. at the Duffin Creek Water Pollution Control Plant on MacKay Road, about 40 kilometres east of Toronto.

The area around Duffin Creek Water Pollution Control Plant on MacKay Road, about 40 kilometres east of Toronto, affected by explosion. (Google/CBC)

Images from the scene showed smoke in the sky above the plant. Firefighters were able to quickly bring the fire under control. There were no injuries.

However, given the plant’s proximity to the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, the blast had a lot of people very shaken up.

The loud explosion left Donnie MacCharles and Terry Weldanks, who work across the street from the Duffin Creek Water Pollution Control Plant, fearing for their lives.

“We both looked back and saw a huge mushroom cloud,” Weldanks said.

“We thought it was all over for us because it was so loud and so intense,” MacCharles added.

The actual cause of the blast was likely a result of methane build up, according to Clifford Curtis,  Commissioner of Works for Durham Region.

The explosion took place inside the odour control building, where emissions are treated before being released into the air. Luckily, the building was empty.

http://www.wlox.com/story/24516296/explosion-at-bio-diesel-facility...

NEW ALBANY, MS -

(WMC-TV) - The Mississippi Highway Patrol says the fire at the bio-diesel facility is still burning in New Albany. Action News 5 cameras captured the second explosion that happened at the plant Wednesday afternoon.

Carl Harlin, the plant's manager, says the company converts chicken fat to alternative fuel. Despite the explosion being heard, seen, and felt for miles, nobody was injured.

"I walked outside. I noticed every tree in my yard was glowing orange and then it hit me, I said, 'There's something going on,'" said neighbor Randy Whiteborn. "It always worried me being so close, but you never think anything like this is going to happen."

The chemicals that posed a threat are in tanks that appear to be safe.

"None of that's burning, none of those tanks were compromised," said Harlin.

Bill Mattox lives a couple of miles from the facility.

"I heard it at 5:30. It woke me up and kind of shook the house. So it was a pretty big show this morning. A lot of people around town saw it and heard it," he said.

Two of Harlin's employees were at the facility at the time of the explosion.

"He just grabbed the newer guy and said, 'Come on, let's go.' And they ran," said Harlin.

Federal and state agencies are in Union County testing the air quality. So far, there are no reported problems.

The explosion knocked out power to customers in the town of Blue Mountain, which is a few miles from the facility.

First responders were unable to fight the fire for quite some time Wednesday for fear of additional diesel tank explosions. Afterward they said it is a difficult situation because it is hard to fight burning chemicals with just water.

"The best thing we can do at this time, I just let the fire burn itself out, because we don't know which chemicals has [sic] leaked out and which has not," said Union County Emergency Management Director Curt Clayton.

The tanks with substances inside have all exploded and fire crews are waiting for everything to burn out. The explosions also led to grass fires.

The Red Cross provided help to first responders who were at the scene for about eight hours.

Also, the Red Cross provided aid after a gas line not too far from New Albany ruptured Wednesday evening.

First responders knocked on residents' doors on Old Highway 15, urging them to seek shelter at a Red Cross location at the Victory Life Center in New Albany on Denton Road.

It was not a mandatory evacuation, but as the temperature drops and the bio-diesel continues to burn the smoke will settle, which creates possible danger to people.

The New Albany school district canceled classes for Thursday due to the bio-diesel explosion.

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/local-news/oh-summit/richfield-police-...

Richfield Police: Large fire, gas well explosion in Boston Heights

Photo: Dave Hatala/WEWS

 

 

BOSTON HEIGHTS, Ohio - Crews are at the scene of reported gas well explosion Thursday morning in Boston Heights.

Boston Heights Police dispatchers said the explosion happened around 10:15 a.m. behind a several houses located near Hines Hill Road and Brandywine Road.

Witnesses tell NewsChannel5 at the scene that they heard an explosion and then saw flames shoot into the air.

Fire crews have blocked off portion of Hines Hill Road as they work to extinguish the “large fire,” according to Richfield Police.

Multiple fire departments are assisting at the scene.

Dispatchers said crews are also attempted to cut off the gas in the area. No injuries were reported and everyone has been accounted for, according to dispatchers.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/natural-gas-pipeline-explode...

A pipeline fire in southern Manitoba was not expected to burn for long, RCMP said early this morning. (Courtesy of Kurtis Bateman)

A natural gas pipeline is on fire this morning after exploding overnight near Otterburne, south of Winnipeg.

St-Pierre-Jolys RCMP responded around 1:05 a.m. to what they're calling a "loud explosion."

"I was out for a dog walk and saw a huge fire ball-like burst of light to my south, and knowing that there's a gas relay station at the north end of Ile des Chênes, that seems the most likely candidate," said area resident John Sadoway.

"It lit up the whole sky here for half an hour. The sky's still glowing, actually," said another resident, who only identified himself to CBC News as Tyler.

Police have confirmed the fire is coming from the pipeline, but say the burning gas is non-toxic and no injuries are reported.

The pipeline, which is owned by TransCanada PipeLines, has been temporarily shutdown according to a statement from a company spokesman. The statement also said that nearby roads have been closed, and that the company is not aware of any reports of injuries.

However, five houses within the vicinity of the fire were evacuated by RCMP and St-Pierre-Jolys Fire Department.

Police and fire officials, along with TransCanada Pipeline, are investigating the cause of the explosion.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=281779&playlistId=1.1655567&...

http://pix11.com/2014/01/29/two-hurt-after-gas-explosion-rocks-stat...

Two hurt after gas explosion rocks Staten Island home

DONGAN HILLS, Staten Island (PIX11) - Two people were injured Wednesday night after an explosion inside a Staten Island home, according to the FDNY.

Firefighters were called to the scene around 5:02 p.m. by residents reporting a gas odor.  By the time they arrived, a fire had already started in the basement.

Firefighters evacuated a three-block swath of the Todt Hill neighborhood around Overlook Ave. and Delaware St.

The cause of the explosion is unclear, Nation Grid workers are currently digging in several locations to see if it is a natural gas leak.

Both people suffered minor injuries in the explosion.

http://www.wate.com/story/24610623/three-people-injured-in-gatlinbu...

Three people injured in Gatlinburg after reported gas explosion

Posted: Feb 01, 2014 8:56 PM EST

GATLINBURG (WATE) – Three people have been injured after a reported gas explosion in Gatlinburg, according to Marci Claude, Gatlinburg's PIO.

Police received a call at 7:15 p.m. to the Tree Tops Resort.

A building suffered structural damage, but the fire has been extinguished.

UT Lifestar flew one person to the hospital, Claude said. Two others were transported by ambulance.

Claude did not release the extent of the victims' injuries. 

http://www.brecorder.com/pakistan/general-news/156169-18-inch-diame...

Monday, 03 February 2014 14:11

Posted by Parvez Jabri

33

DERA MURAD JAMALI: An explosion causes suspension of gas supply to the local power plant in Nasirabad district.

The district administration said that an explosion took place in the pipeline supplying gas from Sui to the local power plant in Nasirabad district. Resultantly, the gas supply to the gas supply to the power plant was suspended.

The teams of experts of OGDCL has been called in for repairing of the affected pipeline.

http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Cause-of-Manhattan-manhole...

Cause of Manhattan manhole explosions investigated

Updated 3:53 am, Monday, February 3, 2014

http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/local/2014/02/02/explosion-in-virgi...

Explosion in Va. destroys home

801 p.m. EST February 2, 2014

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- An explosion in Fredericksburg, Virginia shook a neighborhood and destroyed a house under construction.

The fire Marshal suspects a gas leak caused the explosion.

People who live close to the house describe the loud explosion that rattled their home and their nerves.

Stephanie Kim was at home around 9 Saturday night when she felt her house shake.

"All of a sudden I heard this huge bang. I freaked out for a second and thought of my kids thinking there's no way they would do something that would make that loud of a noise. I looked out window and saw the roof on the ground and there was fire around the back of it," Kim said.

Tom Hammond and his family felt the boom a quarter of a mile away.

"My wife and I were in our bedroom watching TV. We got a shake that felt like the earthquake we had a few years ago," said Hammond.

The Stafford County Fire Marshall was back out at the collapsed home, Sunday. The house that was unoccupied is located near route 17 in a brand new development at Stafford Lakes Village subdivision in Fredericksburg.

Explosion Levels Steel Plant Building - February 2, 2014

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Explosion-Levels-Steel-Pl...

A gas explosion has leveled a building on the grounds of a central Pennsylvania steel plant.

Steelton Mayor Thomas Acri tells Pennlive.com that no one was hurt in the blast and subsequent fire at the ArcelorMittal plant Sunday afternoon.

No one was inside the building when it exploded around 1 p.m. The cause of the gas leak remains under investigation.

The fire brought more than 90 first responders to the grounds. Officials from UGI Utilities were there to investigate and help firefighters.

The steel plant dates to 1867 and was formerly part of the Bethlehem Steel Corp. ArcelorMittal says the plant was the first built specifically for the production of steel in the United States.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2552073/Homes-evacuated-cas...

How did anyone survive this? Neighbours describe pulling families from wreckage after two houses are flattened following huge gas explosion that left 10 injured

• Residents of Clacton, Essex reported hearing a loud bang 'like a bomb going off' at 8.30am thanks to gas explosion
  
• Four fire engines, five ambulances and two air ambulances called to scene and took 10 people to hospital
• Passers-by who helped pull victims from the rubble said they were shocked to find residents still alive
  

By Hugo Gye

PUBLISHED: 09:25 GMT, 5 February 2014 | UPDATED: 14:07 GMT, 5 February 2014

Bystanders who helped pull out a couple from the rubble of their home after a huge gas explosion have revealed their shock that anyone survived the blast.

A man is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after the incident in Clacton, Essex, with two more people severely injured and seven left 'walking wounded'.

The blast sent debris flying around the street, destroying two semi-detached houses and badly damaging another, and was described by locals as sounding 'like a bomb going off'

Police and other emergency services - including four fire engines, five ambulances and two air ambulances - were called to the scene on Cloes Lane just before 8.30am today.

+14

Destroyed: Two houses were flattened by an apparent gas explosion in Clacton, Essex this morning

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/st-louis-firefi...

St. Louis firefighters respond to building explosion in Soulard

ST. LOUIS • Firefighters have responded to an intersection in Soulard after an apparent natural gas explosion about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Authorities say a there was an explosion in a building at Shenandoah Avenue and Menard Street. Nobody was injured, according to St. Louis Fire Capt. Garon Mosby.

It wasn't clear what caused the explosion, in a three-story building that houses a design studio. There was a strong odor of gas after the explosion, Mosby said, and some nearby buildings had been evacuated. Laclede Gas crews were on the scene, testing the air for gas levels, Mosby said.

A Laclede Gas Co. spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for comment.

Calls to the design business did not go through.

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=198913

Elderly woman killed in building collapse in Italy

http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/5549620-74/explosion-injured-aut...

Published: Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014, 6:24 p.m.
Updated 15 hours ago

http://www.samaa.tv/viae%20evacaed%20afer%20a%20ieie%20exi%20i%20ry...

Villages evacuated after gas pipeline explosion in RYK

Updated at: Monday, February 10, 2014 12:51:17 AM Staff Report RAHIMYAR KHAN: Several villages were evacuated after a fire broke out due to gas pipeline explosions in Rahimyar Khan on Sunday evening. The explosion happened just 50 kilometers from Rahimyar Khan city. According to report, the fire, which was raging, engulfed Yousufabad Rang Pura Village within no times. On the directive of DCO Rahimyar Khan, fire brigade teams and resceu workers reached the scene and started operation to extinguish the fire. DPO Suhail Zafar Chatha said that no loss of life was reported in the explosion. He said that efforts were under way to put out the blaze and it was premature to tell what caused the fire.

http://www.wtrf.com/story/24691233/gas-well-explosion-reported-in-s...

 

Photo Courtesy KDKA

http://bismarcktribune.com/bakken/natural-gas-explosion-reported-ne...

Natural gas explosion reported near Tioga

A natural gas pipeline explosion and fire was reported Monday night south of Tioga said Tim Wiedrich, chief of the North Dakota Health Department's emergency preparedness and response section.

Randall Pederson with the Tioga Fire and Ambulance Department said they were called to the scene at 9 p.m. No injuries were reported.

Pederson said as they were responding they could see a large glow south of town so they knew it was a big blaze. Four fire trucks and an ambulance responded.

Pederson said the fire department set up a perimeter about 1/2 mile north of the blaze to keep people from driving through the area. He said they were there for about one hour.

The pipeline company, Hiland Partners, shut valves to keep any more gas from reaching the blaze and put it out. Pederson said the fire department never got close to the blaze and had no information about how it started.

According to its website, Hiland Partners is a midstream energy company gathering, processing and marketing natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/gas-pipeline-blast-kentucky-bur...

http://articles.mcall.com/2014-02-15/news/mc-f-moore-twp-mobile-hom...

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Report+explosion+central+Istanb...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/10643874/Explosion-beneath-p...

Explosion beneath pavement forces evacuation in north London

Fifty people had to be evacuated from their homes and businesses this morning after an underground fire in Islington

http://news.yahoo.com/seven-miners-killed-ukraine-blast-105210033.html

Seven miners killed in Ukraine blast

Kiev (AFP) - Seven miners were killed and nine injured when a gas explosion ripped through a state-owned coal mine in eastern Ukraine, officials said Tuesday.

The blast occurred Monday evening at a depth of around 800 metres (2,600 feet) while some 90 workers were on shift at the mine in Makiyivka in Ukraine's mineral-rich Donetsk region.

"Seven miners were killed and nine hospitalised," the emergency situations service said in a statement.

The bodies of all the victims had been recovered by early Tuesday and work at the mine has been suspended, the statement said.

Fatal accidents are a regular feature at Ukrainian mines, most of which are located in the country's industrial eastern region. Many of the mines are underfunded and poorly equipped, and safety violations are rife.

In the worst accident of its kind in the country's post-Soviet history, more than 100 miners were killed in an explosion in 2007 at the Zasyadko mine, one of the three biggest in Ukraine.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-138312-2-dead-as-gas-pipeline-exp...

2 dead as gas pipeline explodes in Sindh

GHOTKI: A 36-inch diameter gas pipeline from Qadirpur Gas Field caught fire after a huge explosion near Mir Kosh area in Ghotki district, police said on Wednesday.

The police said that two people were killed and two others sustained injured in the explosion. They said that the dead and injured were shifted to a nearby hospital.

According to reports, Guddu-Kashmore highway was closed for traffic as the gas pipe line exploded near the road linking Punjab and Sindh.

Gas supply was suspended to different areas of Punjab and Sindh after the explosion.

Official sources said that gas supply to power plants in Faisalabad and Kabirwala was suspended after the incident.

http://qctimes.com/news/local/northwood-iowa-being-evacuated-after-...

Northwood, Iowa, evacuated after explosion, fire at fertilizer plant

NORTHWOOD — The cause of Thursday's explosion at Northwood AG Products fertilizer storage that contains sulfuric acid is undetermined, according to Worth County Emergency Management Director Ray Huftalin.

The explosion, which forced the evacuation of Northwood's approximately 2,000 residents for most of the day, occurred around 7:30 a.m. Thursday.

Residents were given the all-clear about 4 p.m. U.S. Highway 65 was re-opened at approximately 3:15 p.m.

Considering the number of people involved, the evacuation went well, Huftalin said.

Four Northwood residents were treated at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa Thursday morning following the fire.

The hospital was put on alert for the possibility of more people needing treatment.

No additional patients had been admitted as of 3:40 p.m. Thursday, a Mercy spokeswoman said.

The residents getting hospital treatment came in on their own, a hospital spokeswoman said.

General symptoms of exposure to sulfuric acid are vomiting, nausea and respiratory problems. The spokeswoman said anyone experiencing symptoms should go to the main entrance of the emergency room. A medical team would be there to assist them.

http://english.eastday.com/e/140221/u1a7943684.html

http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2014/02/23/blast-in-rus...

Blast in Russia kills three, authorities suspect gas

Reuters News | Feb 23, 2014

MOSCOW (Reuters) - An explosion that investigators said may have been caused by gas killed three people at a shopping complex in Russia's remote Altai region in southern Siberia on Sunday, law enforcement authorities said.

Russian authorities are on alert for any attacks during the 2014 Winter Olympics, which end on Sunday in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi. Initial reports gave no information about the cause of the blast, raising fears it could have been a bombing.

But the federal Investigative Committee made no mention of any suspicion of a militant attack or foul play in the early morning blast that killed three female employees at the complex in the city of Biisk, more than 2,500 km (1,500 miles) east of Sochi.

"According to preliminary information, a household gas explosion may have been the cause," it said, adding that the investigation was continuing and a criminal case on suspicion of lethal negligence had been opened.

another link: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2014/02/23/Blast-at-Russian-...

Blast at Russian mall kills three

BIYSK, Russia, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- At least three people died Sunday after an explosion at a mall in Siberia's Altai Republic, police said.

The explosion took place at the Kalinka mall in central Biysk and killed three female shop assistants, RIA Novosti reported.

Authorities were investigating the cause of the explosion.

Police said it could have been caused by a gas leak, though the building is heated by coal.

And another explosion: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/gas-explosion-at-kemerov...

Gas Explosion at Kemerovo Coal Mine Kills 2

http://www.reuters.com/article/slideshow/idUSBREA1Q13E20140227#a=1

Twelve dead in Qatar restaurant gas explosion: news agency

People stand amidst debris near a Turkish restaurant following a gas explosion in Doha February 27, 2014. Twelve people were killed, including two children, and about 30 wounded when a gas tank exploded at the Turkish restaurant in the Qatari capital off Doha on Thursday, authorities in the Gulf Arab state reported. 

another link: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4493450,00.html

12 dead in gas blast in Qatari capital Doha

Qatar's capital of Doha, killing 12

by ABDULLAH REBHY., Associated Press - 27 February 2014 09:02-05:00

DOHA, Qatar - An apparent gas explosion Thursday at a restaurant near a filling station in the Qatari capital killed 12 people and wounded several more, emergency services officials in the energy-rich Gulf nation said.

Initial indications suggested a burst natural gas tank atop a Turkish restaurant was to blame for the blast, which happened shortly after 10 a.m. near the popular Landmark Mall shopping center in the capital, Doha.

The force of the explosion caused the partial collapse of the Istanbul Restaurant and sent shrapnel flying as far as 50 meters  away, authorities said. Officials are treating the explosion as an accident, though it is unclear what ignited the tank.

The 12 people reported killed were all Asian or Arab, said Maj. Gen. Saad al-Khulaifi, who heads the country's police force. He did not give further details on their identities or nationalities.

He said 31 others were wounded, some seriously. He vowed authorities would conduct a full and transparent investigation. 

http://westchester.news12.com/news/2-manholes-explode-in-hartsdale-...

2 manholes explode in Hartsdale at East Hartsdale and Columbia avenues; knocks out power

Originally published: February 27, 2014 3:28 PM
Updated: February 27, 2014 5:29 PM

The explosions, caused by an underground Con Ed transformer fire, knocked out power to multiple buildings affecting about 1,000 residents.

HARTSDALE - An explosion in two manholes has knocked out power to parts of Hartsdale, and police are fearful of more explosions.

Police say two Con Ed manholes exploded at around 2:30 p.m. at East Hartsdale and Columbia avenues. 

Cops cordoned off the area due to the possibility that other manholes may explode. Traffic is shut down from Central Avenue to East Hartsdale Avenue. 

Read More:  Westchester Top Stories

The explosions, caused by an underground Con Ed transformer fire, knocked out power to multiple buildings, affecting about 1,000 residents. Residents are being told to make other arrangements for tonight. The Greenburgh police chief says buses are acting as warming shelters, and emergency power stations are set up for those with medical equipment.

One resident told News 12 it "sounded like someone dropped a bomb." No injuries have been reported yet.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/12/us/manhattan-building-explosion/index...

Authorities respond to massive explosion in East Harlem

By Ray Sanchez, CNN

updated 11:20 AM EDT, Wed March 12, 2014

(CNN) -- A massive explosion Wednesday injured at least 11 people and resulted in a building collapse and raging fire in Manhattan's East Harlem, authorities said.

A Con Ed spokesman Bob McGee said the utility received a call of a gas leak at 9:13 AM. The call came from a resident at one of the newer building on Park Avenue. The utility dispatched a truck two minutes later but it arrived after the explosion, the spokesman said.

Map: Explosion in Harlem

Building collapses in Manhattan

Clouds of dark smoke rose over the largely residential area of red-brick tenements and small businesses after the the 9:30 a.m. blast.

Hundreds of firefighters responded, many spraying water on the roaring blaze from ladders, others furiously pulling bricks near the collapse.

Metro North commuter rail service was suspended as debris from the explosion landed on the elevated tracks across the street, authorities said.

"I heard an explosion," said a neighborhood resident named Angelica. "The impact of the explosion jammed the doors. I couldn't get out the house. It was so loud."

The New York police bomb squad responded to the scene, according to a law enforcement source.

"Two buildings have collapsed. I hope there is no one in there. It's just rubble," a worker at a nearby flea market said.

Dark smoke could be seen billowing for a three-block radius as hundreds of rescue officials descended on the scene.

CNN first learned of this story via Twitter.

16-Inch Natural Gas Pipeline Explodes Near Fremont Nebraska (Mar 14)
A 60-foot wall of flame erupted Friday morning from a ruptured natural gas pipeline along a rural road northwest of Fremont.

An explosion shook houses and could be heard miles away, and the towering blaze that followed kept burning for much of the day, fueled by the contents of Northern Natural Gas' 16-inch pipeline.

“It sounded like a jet,” said Wayne Francis, who lives about 2 1/2 miles away.

After the blast, he drove to the intersection closest to the fire, Dodge County Roads 20 and O, and got out of his pickup.

"I could feel the heat," he said. "The fire was starting to burn in the corn stubble on the north side of the road. There was nothing else close that looked like it was going to burn.”

Four nearby homes were evacuated, but nothing was damaged and no one was injured, officials said.

As many as two additional explosions followed the first one, said Jerry Dillenburg, chief of the volunteer fire department in nearby Nickerson.

“I know for sure there was another explosion once we got out here, but it was in the same area. What caused it, I don’t know. It wasn’t big like the original one,” he said.

Workers from Omaha-based Northern Natural Gas closed off the section of pipe involved, but the remaining gas continued to burn into the afternoon. The company's nearby pipelines kept gas flowing to the Fremont and Hooper areas.

Spokesman Mike Loeffler said it could take weeks to determine what caused the explosion.

“They won’t know for sure until they can get in there and dig around and get the pipeline pulled up,” Dillenburg said.

Northern Natural Gas operates 14,900 miles of pipe in several states, stretching from southwest Texas to the Great Lakes region, according to its website. Its lines cut across much of eastern Nebraska.

Loeffler said he didn't know when the line was installed.

Throughout the day Friday, firefighters and law enforcement held a steady stream of onlookers at bay, keeping them from getting too close in case of more fire.

But plenty of folks could see it all from home.

At about 8:30 a.m., Keith and Marcia Johnson were in bed in their home down the road when they heard the boom.

“The house just shook,” Marcia Johnson said later Friday morning. “We looked out of our window and there was a huge ball of fire. We grabbed our clothes and ran out because our house is on the natural gas line. Keith doesn’t even have his shoes."

Erin Teut was getting ready for work when she saw the explosion from about 2 miles away.

"I just happened to be standing there looking out the window and I saw the explosion and felt it,” she said. “You just heard this roaring, it sounded like a jet had crashed.

“You see this big massive explosion, and you can just feel the pressure in the air when it happened. ... We were far enough away, but from that far the sound was absolutely frightening."

Source

http://columbustelegram.com/news/local/pipeline-rupture-causes-expl...

LANCASTER COUNTY, SC (WBTV) - video link

http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/25044488/officials-house-explodes-in-...

Officials: House exploded in Lancaster, damaged 5 other homes

Posted: Mar 22, 2014 4:23 AM EDTUpdated: Mar 22, 2014 1:40 PM EDT

Police told WBTV nobody was injured when a house exploded in Lancaster on Saturday morning on Cane Mill Road.

Five other homes were damaged in the blast according to the Lancaster Police Department.

Officials blocked off the area because firefighters were concerned about a second explosion.

The Lancaster Fire Marshal said there is no official cause of the blast but it was most likely a gas explosion.

Neighbors told WBTV the owners of the home left on Friday for a vacation in the mountains.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating.

Saturday March 22, 2014

Confirm "total destruction" of plant that burns in YPF Malargüe- MENDOZA- ARGENTINA

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=es&tl=en&js=n&...

The larger tank structure yielded, as a result of temperature. A fire two oil tanks triggered the "total destruction" of a treatment plant oil company YPF in Cerro Divisadero, 20 kilometers from the city of Mendoza Bardas Blancas in Malargüe, where the situation was "review ". The company confirmed that 14 people were referred for minor injuries at various health facilities in the area, but none had life-threatening. The incident began in Mendoza midday Friday in one of the tanks, for reasons discussed, which generated a plume several meters high that could be seen for miles. However, in the morning, and as a result of temperature, yielded tank walls affecting the whole plant, including other similar container. Since the company confirmed to DyN that structure the largest oil tank ceded as a result of temperature, which burned oil spilled all over the floor, and hit the other reservoir. They also reported that the work being performed aimed to contain the fire to prevent it from spreading to other facilities that the company has in place, and the adjacent fields. Last year, the company suffered a similar incident in the plant having in Ensenada, on the day of the tragic flooding in the city of La Plata, which halted production for a long time

"DELICATE SITUATION"

For his part, Minister of Land and Environment Mendoza, Guillermo Elizalde, said the situation is "delicate," but said it is controlled. The official confirmed that the fire started in one of the tanks that YPF has in the area of ​​Cerro Divisadero, and spread to a second tank, after it took the whole plant, which was destroyed, said the official, speaking to TN. Continue...

MAP: https://www.google.com.ar/maps/@-35.4721293,-69.5808716,5z

http://www.elkharttruth.com/hometown/goshen/2014/03/24/Methane-expl...

Methane explosion causes extensive damage to Goshen water treatment plant

The Goshen Wastewater Treatment Plant, 1000 Wilden Ave., was the site of a methane explosion early Monday morning, March 24, 2014. (Angelle Barbazon/The Elkhart Truth)

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=9478123

March 24, 2014 (JOLIET, Ill.) (WLS) -- A home was leveled by an explosion Monday afternoon in far south suburban Joliet.

The home is in the 700-block of Lambeth Lane. No one was home when the house exploded, and no injuries were reported

A family of five lived in the house, including 3 school-aged children. A relative said that had the explosion occured an hour later, all three of the children would have been home.

Neighbors reported hearing multiple explosions at the house around 2:30 p.m. Monday, which were followed by a large fire. The Joliet Fire Department and Will County Sheriff's Department responded to the scene.

The family that lived there is now staying with relatives.

"Very distraught, very distraught. They can't believe that this happened, their house is just totaled, it's gone. There's nothing left," said Janice Wenzel, homeowner's sister.

The cause of the explosion remains under investigation. A relative of the family said a new furnace was recently installed in the home.

http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_03_28/Six-people-injured-in-Detr...

© Photo: Voice of Russia

Six people, including two children, harmed after a gas explosion in a dwelling in Detroit, US. Currently a two-year-old boy and a six-month-old girl are in a critical condition. The injured were urgently hospitalized.

http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/world/story/fire-explosio...

Fire, explosion at Williams natgas facility in Washington

(REUTERS) - A fire broke out on Monday at a Plymouth, Washington, natural gas storage facility operated by Williams Partners, and was followed by an explosion, a local fire department official told Reuters.

The fire started at the facility early on Monday and was followed by an explosion in one storage tank, said Ed Dunbar, a captain with the Benton County Fire District office.

Messages left for Williams' officials were not immediately returned.

Residents within a 3.2 km radius of the area were told to evacuate, Dunbar said.

another link:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-willliamspartners-natg...

Explosion risk remains near Washington LNG facility: emergency responders

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Officials are responding to a liquefied natural gas leak from a tank at the Williams Cos Ins LNG facility in Plymouth, Washington, where an explosion occurred earlier on Monday and another is still a possibility, a local emergency responder said.

Emergency responders are evacuating residents within a two-mile radius of the site to a shelter in Hermiston, Oregon, and established roadblocks on a nearby highway and an interstate artery, said Deanna Davis, a public information officer with the Benton County Emergency Management office.

The evacuations are 95 percent complete and emergency responders are draining the LNG before taking a closer look at the damage, she added.

A smaller tank exploded due to unknown causes at the facility earlier on Monday and shrapnel caused a leak on a larger tank nearby, Davis said.