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The Weyauwega derailment was a railroad accident that occurred in Weyauwega, Wisconsin, United States, in the early morning hours of March 4, 1996. The derailed train was carrying a large quantity of hazardous material, which immediately caught fire. The fire, which involved the train cars and an adjacent feed mill, burned for more than two weeks after the actual derailment, resulting in the emergency evacuation of 2,300 people for 18 days, including the entire city of Weyauwega, with about 1,700 evacuees.
A gas explosion is the ignition of a mixture of air and flammable gas, typically from a gas leak. In household accidents, the principal explosive gases are those used for heating or cooking purposes such as natural gas, methane, propane, butane. In industrial explosions, many other gases, like hydrogen, as well as evaporated (gaseous) gasoline or ethanol play an important role. Industrial gas explosions can be prevented with the use of intrinsic safety barriers to prevent ignition, or use of alternative energy.
There have been many extremely large explosions, accidental and intentional, caused by modern high explosives, boiling liquid expanding vapour explosions (BLEVEs), older explosives such as gunpowder, volatile petroleum-based fuels such as gasoline, and other chemical reactions. This list contains the largest known examples, sorted by date. An unambiguous ranking in order of severity is not possible; a 1994 study by historian Jay White of 130 large explosions suggested that they need to be ranked by an overall effect of power, quantity, radius, loss of life and property destruction, but concluded that such rankings are difficult to assess.
The Falk Corporation explosion refers to a large and fatal propane gas explosion at a Falk Corporation building in the industrial Menomonee River Valley neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on December 6, 2006. Three people were killed and forty-seven others injured. Cars were reportedly flipped through the air and debris scattered over several blocks. An investigation of the cause of the disaster uncovered leaks in a pipe running below the building, which supplied propane to the heating system for the complex. Several parties involved in the explosion have launched legal action in connection to the accident.
The Boston Fire Department provides fire services and first responder emergency medical services to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It also responds to such incidents as motor vehicle accidents, hazardous material spills, utility mishaps, floods, explosions, and construction accidents among others.
The Feyzin disaster occurred in a refinery near the town of Feyzin, 10 kilometres south of Lyon, France, on 4 January 1966. An LPG spill occurred when an operator was draining water from a 1,200m³ pressurised propane tank. The resultant cloud of propane vapour spread, until it was ignited by a car on an adjoining road. The pool of propane in the bund caused the storage tank to be engulfed in flames, which produced a Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosion (BLEVE) when the tank ruptured. This resulted in a fireball which killed and injured firemen and spectators. Flying missiles broke the legs of an adjacent sphere which later BLEVE'd. Three further spheres toppled due to the collapse of support legs which were not adequately fire protected. These vessels ruptured but did not explode. A number of petrol and crude oil tanks also caught fire. The conflagration took 48 hours to bring under control. This incident resulted in the deaths of 18 people, the injury of 81 and extensive damage to the site.
On December 29, 2011, police in Myanmar (also known as Burma) reported a fire followed by several explosions killing at least 17 people and injuring 83 in Yangon. The dead included five firefighters who were caught in an explosion during the blaze.
The Kingman explosion, also known as the Doxol disaster or Kingman BLEVE, was a catastrophic boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE) that occurred on July 5, 1973, in Kingman, Arizona, United States.
On April 10, 2019, a gas explosion occurred near downtown Durham, North Carolina at the 115 block of North Duke Street in the Brightleaf District. The blast destroyed several buildings and damaged dozens of others, killing two people and injuring 25 others, including 9 firefighters. City officials cited a gas leak as the cause of the explosion.
On 4 November 2020, a blast at a chemical factory in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India caused deaths of 12 people and injuries to nine others.
On December 23, 1988, a tractor-trailer tanker truck hauling liquefied propane crashed on an exit ramp at the Interstate 40/Interstate 240 (I-40/I-240) interchange in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, US. The crash ruptured the tank; the leaking gas exploded, setting multiple vehicles and structures on fire. The explosion propelled the tank 125 yards (114 m) into a residential complex and started additional fires. The accident caused nine deaths and ten injuries. The interchange where the accident occurred was considered unsafe and poorly designed, and had been the site of several previous accidents; it was completely rebuilt in the 2000s.
The 1946 Greenville propane explosion occurred on 19 November 1946, at the Ideal Laundry in Greenville, South Carolina. A tank containing around 3,500 US gallons (13 m3) of propane exploded around 6 PM, after leaking vapors were ignited by the boilers in the basement. The blast, which killed 6 people and injured over 150, was felt as far away as Gaffney, 50 miles to the northeast.
On October 31, 1963, a gas explosion occurred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum in Indianapolis, United States, killing 81 people and injuring about 400 others. It was one of the worst disasters in the history of the state.
References
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- 1 2 3 "Erie County Fire Blotter". Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
- 1 2 3 "Hooks & Irons".[ permanent dead link ]