Firefighters back to battling blaze

5:19pm Monday 12th December 2005

FIREFIGHTERS have now resumed battling the blaze at the Buncefield oil depot.

Earlier, they had been forced to withdraw following fears another tank of fuel could explode.

Ten of the 20 burning tanks were extinguished by 2pm, but the new risk did pose further problems for fire crews.

At that time, Chief Fire Officer Roy Wilsher said: "We have withdrawn our firefighters because the last thing we want is human tragedy.

"We are holding back at the moment but still spraying the tank with cooling jets. We intend to go back on the offensive as soon as possible.

"This fire is a first for all of us and there will be some ups and downs in the progress."

Crews are hoping to bring under control the fire at the fuel depot, near junction 8 of the M1 motorway, by smothering it with an immense blanket of foam.

But Hertfordshire Fire Chief, Roy Wilsher, has admitted that thermal currents from the fire may just vaporise the foam.

He said: "We are in uncharted territory.

"This is the largest fire of this kind that we in the UK and Europe have dealt with."

He said that he could not predict how long it would take crews to put the fire out.

Before using the foam, firefighters had been containing the blaze by maintaining a curtain of water between the flames and seven unexploded fuel tanks.

According to the fire service, around 20 tanks, each thought to hold three million gallons of fuel, were on fire at the height of the blaze, but 10 have now been successfully smothered.

Three, apparently accidental, explosions at the depot, created a blaze said to be the biggest in peacetime Europe.

They rocked the county early on Sunday morning, sending plumes of thick black smoke many hundreds of feet into the air.

The first blast happened at 0603 GMT and was heards from as far afield as the Netherlands.

Witnesses said another two explosions, described by Bedmond residents as louder than thunder, followed the first at 0626 GMT and 0627 GMT.

Firefighters had been due to start smothering the blaze at midnight on Sunday after calling in stocks of foam concentrate from as far away as Hull, but concerns about the foam's effect on the environment delayed proceedings.

Pollution fears have since been satisfied and crews are using a crane and six high volume pumps, pumping water from the Grand Union Canal, to help create a foam blanket.

A total of 42 people were injured in the blasts, two seriously.

One person admitted to Watford General Hospital in intensive care with respiratory problems has been stabilised.

Another person in Hemel Hempstead Hospital was reported to be under observation.

On Sunday, walking wounded started arriving at hospitals before 0700 GMT, mostly those cut by flying glass.

Around 2,000 people were evacuated from the immediate area because of the incident although some have since been allowed to return to their homes.

About 70 schools in the area were closed on Monday due to road closures and health concerns about the smoke cloud.

Government agencies are currently assessing the health implications of inhaling the smoke.

Residents have been advised to stay indoors and to keep their windows and doors shut.

The M10 motorway remains completely closed and the public are being warned that the M1, which reopened on Sunday evening may be closed again if the smoke plume starts to settle on the road.

An inquiry into the cause of the blast cannot take place until the area has been made safe, but a spokesman from oil firm Total, which operates the depot, denied that there had been leaks prior to the explosions.

Were you affected by the blast? If so, email your story to editor@watfordobserver.co.uk with your story.