Fire experts are describing the massive blaze, at the Buncefield oil storage depot in Hemel Hempstead, as 'Europes biggest peacetime fire disaster'. The first explosion occurred around 6.00a.m. today, and there have been many others since then, two of them a few minutes ago which is nearly twelve hours on.
Buncefield is Britain's fifth largest oil storage depot, and the cloud of pollution from the blaze is spreading in a wide fan shape tp the south and east, which takes in much of London. the blaze is, according to local firechiefs, likely to go on for several days but is presently being contained to the depot by firecrews who are working flat out.
Many homes and businesses have been damaged, some beyond repair, and hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes in the vicinity. Incredibly there have been few casualties reported, probably because of the time of the explosions and that it was on a Sunday.
We live about 15 miles east of Hemel Hempstead, and the black, toxic pollution cloud was very clearly visible against the clear sky we had today. We live on fairly high ground, and the black cloud looked like a solid wall, extending from horizon to horizon several miles to the south. Hospitals and medical services are preparing for a possible rush of patients suffering breathing difficulties, though these are likely, it is claimed, to be mainly from people who already have breathing disorders.
Police have ruled out terrorism as a cause of this disaster, saying that it appears to be an 'accident', but it will be very interesting to learn the actual cause.

So glad you are safe, Aramis. I hope the pollution will not affect you too badly. What a ghastly business!

Looks as if Jersey could be affected by this fire...

Quote:

---

However, there is still a chance it could blow over the Island and also a strong possibility that pollutants will mix with rain and fall on Jersey.

If this happens, people may find oily or carbon deposits on their vehicles and windows after rain. At this stage it is not known how harmful this may be.

---

I have just popped my car into the garage rather than leave it on the drive.

Sounds like a miracle that no one was killed - the last I heard, there were a couple of serious injuries, but no deaths.

Hope the environmental impact is not too long lasting!

Last night a Fire Brigade live video was televised direct from the scene of the inferno. What these guys are doing is almost beyond belief. They are doing extremely arduous work right up against raging fires in dense toxic smoke with poor visibility and every possibility of further massive explosions. They have been pulled out a couple of times when the danger is just too great, but IMHO they all deserve bravery medals.
I am appalled that these brave men have been obliged to work in these conditions, and am totally unimpressed by all the assurances that this was just an 'accident', and the resulting pollution is 'not all that serious'. I have spent many years in the electricity supply industry, and where large oil tanks, including grid transformers, are in close proximity it is normal to place blast walls between the tanks. At this, and it appears all other oil storage facilities, all the storage tanks have no such protective walls or barriers between them, thus IMHO massively increasing the risk of fires spreading.
Since the first explosions two days ago the prevailing winds have been from the north, so although we live only 15 miles to the east we've been unaffected by the smoke. Possibly the most 'laughable' (if it wasn't so serious) bits of 'expert' advice has been to 'avoid breathing in the smoke' from this fire. Millions of people live in the path of the massive toxic smoke cloud so I don't know how they are all supposed to act on this stupid advice - which has been put out on television several times that I've seen. I haven't noticed the authorities issuing breathing apparatus to everyone affected, or maybe they're all just expected to hold their breath for a few days!
When the fires are eventually extinguished, stand by for the PR, spin, and propaganda from 'experts' and politicians anxious to protect themselves from any responsibilty for this disaster and its consequences.

A dreadful disaster indeed. I'm so pleased that the casualties weren't worse. Thank goodness it didn't happen at a time when the area was more populated. I've just been watching the lunchtime news (Tuesday) and the good work of the fire-fighters. We live perhaps 70 miles to the south of the fire but the sunlight as Sunday progressed took on a very strange quality. Satellite pictures showed us on the edge of the spread of smoke. On Monday a northerly wind picked up a little. It was difficult to know just how much of the clouds blowing above us were smoke. I'm sure they had an element of it at least. It must be awful to live nearer the fire and be under the worst of the smoke, not to mention all the immediate damage the blast caused to homes and businesses. Everyone nearby has my concern.

Just trying to get a handle on the pollution element of this disaster. I heard (purely hearsay) that the depot holds 4 days of fuel destined for wherever it supplies fuel to. Is that the case? If so, all this going up in one place surely means that the pollution caused locally would be great. What I'd like to know though, is has this disaster put any more pollution into the air, on a worldwide scale, than it otherwise would have done over a 4 day period? I know if the fuel was burnt via engines, the pollution put into the air would have been less visible and more spread out but would that also mean it was less harmful to the atmosphere generally? In other words, is this terrible incident is showing up vividly the amount of pollution that 4 days of fuel usage incurs. If it were possible to scoop up into a pile and view all the pollution a major city creates over that period of time, would the sight be just as alarming as all that black smoke?

Get your car under cover Martin. We were warned that any rain will bring down oily deposits, possibly causing damage to your paintwork.

I haven't heard anything about the '4 day storage capacity' but would have thought it was more than that. Buncefield was Britain's fifth largest storage terminal so four days capacity seems very small. Could it have been four days aviation fuel capacity, rather than total capacity?
People living close - except of course those in the immediate vicinity - to the fire are in less danger from atmospheric pollution than those living miles away. This is because the tremendous heat generated causes the smoke to rise and stay high until it has cooled sufficiently to descend. According to weather forecasters there is, and has been since the start of the incident, an inversion layer at around 1,000 to 2,000 feet which prevents the smoke rising further and causing it to spread out more. Earlier today I was driving on the M25 motorway about 25 miles to the east of the smoke plume, and could see it rising at about 45 degrees then suddenly flattening out and spreading southwards. The top of the spread was absolutely flat, so I guess the weather people have got it right about the inversion layer.
I'm no expert in atmospheric pollution, but understand that visible pollutants can be far more toxic than invisible ones. I've experienced this personally when flying as observer in a helicopter carrying out an aerial survey of power stations and large substations. The pilot was always very careful to avoid the almost invisible smoke plumes emanating from the power station chimneys, but once we flew into them briefly due to having to take a specific aerial survey position. Our breath was immediately taken away by the choking, invisible sulphurous fumes, and I understand these could even stall the helicopter engines. We got out pretty quickly I can tell you!

I suppose it could be like bird poo, if you wash it off quickly then it might not do any damage. The latter removes paint off Volvos, it has happened to two of mine, hopefully the paint on my nice new Peugeot will be more durable.