And I just noticed two picture frames on the wall fall down and the sound and that didnt match up. A number of other residents took to Twitter to share their concerns following what they too described as an "explosion. TOWN OF MAPLE GROVE, Wis. (AP) Authorities investigating a bonfire explosion over the weekend in eastern Wisconsin said Monday that as many as 40 people might have been injured in the blaze, including some who were seriously hurt. They were hospitalized but their conditions were not immediately known. Police have said that the two blasts that rocked Austin, Texas, today are related to a similar one that occurred on March 2. Chambers climbed to the catwalk and got ready to separate it from the tops of the tanks. WATCH LIVE The personnel were killed when an explosive device detonated during a security operation in the Khan area of the Tarmiyah district. At least three people were transported to hospital by air ambulance as authorities responded to the major industrial accident in Baytown, just over 25 miles east of Houston, officials said. In that case, the blaze was extinguished hours after it began, but Harris County officials said it continued to release toxic pollutants for eight more days. EVANSVILLE, Ind. ABC-7 reported the loud boom heard and felt in east El Paso as well as the Lower Valley was in fact an explosion. However, right now it is unclear if an explosion took place. BAGHDAD (AP) The death toll from a heating gas tank that exploded in a residential complex in northern Iraq has risen to 15, an civil defense official said Friday. MAP EMAIL This is the second in a series of articles. One man who lived near the terminal told a local news crew that he heard a loud boom at about 12:49 a.m. and saw that the top of the tank was engulfed by flames. U.S. Polyco has countered that R-Tex Services, Chambers employer, was at fault. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said there are 33 sites in Texas today, but denied TPRs records request for more information on where they are and who operates them. TOWN OF MAPLE GROVE, Wis. (AP) Sheriff's investigators in Wisconsin are willing to forgo any possible underage drinking violations in order to get more information about a bonfire explosion that injured more than a dozen people, including some critically, officials said Tuesday. At this time, were still collecting all that information, he said, adding: We will conduct a full and thorough investigation., Several residents in the area described feeling their homes shake after what they said appeared to be an "explosion. However, in many other cases, the causes were either not identified or not publicly released because of the restrictions imposed during litigation., Zaloshs study concluded that flammable vapor concentrations measured in storage tanks of residual fuel oil and of asphalt have shown the presence of flammable concentrations even when the liquid is well below the flash point.. Overturned gas tanker explodes, killing 1 person. On Nov. 19, 2014, in La Crosse, Wisconsin, an employee used a torch to heat a clogged valve, igniting flammable vapors in a mostly empty asphalt tank and causing it to explode. The explosion happened just before 8 p.m. when workers "It was like a weird feeling, like a wave and then there was a rumble in my apartment and then the next thing I know, all my pictures in my living room are on the floor. On the way to the scene, ABC Houston affiliate KTRK's helicopter noticed the flames could be seen from 30 miles away. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. In the years since, companies increasingly have mixed additives into residual products. BEIRUT (AP) Scores of protesters Thursday scuffled with riot police in Beirut as they tried to break into the offices of Lebanons judiciary, after the countrys chief prosecutor filed charges against the judge investigating the massive 2020 port explosion and ordered the release of all suspects in the case. The fire, in a remote area, was brought under control after about an hour. She has also reported for ProPublica, the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, One killed in Jackson Heights apartment building fire, At least five died, including two children, in devastating Rockland County fire, Federal judge upholds demotions of FDNY chiefs, Retired NYC firefighter helps Spirit crew put out fire that broke out on plane. Two people are dead after a chemical leak and explosion Tuesday evening at plant in La Porte, Texas, company officials said. Several residents on El Paso's eastside heard a loud explosion on the morning of December 30, 2021. The explosion happened just before 8 p.m. when workers for the utility company CenterPoint Energy were trying to shut down a gas line outside a home in the town of Spring, KXAN reported, citing the Harris County Fire Marshals Office. I didnt want there to be an evacuation and I wouldnt know because I was sleeping.. Flames shot out of the top of the damaged tank, and firefighters let the blaze burn out. The presence of these higher volatility molecules means that the concentrations of vapors in the tanks are higher than they used to be, said Rosselot. The explosion happened in a remote area in Orakzai, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, said Mohammad Arif, an adviser for the Mines and Minerals Department. Smoke plumes fill air after 18-wheeler collides with train. The accident occurred Saturday in the township of Huejutla in Mexicos Gulf coast region known as the Huasteca. USA TODAY 0:00 1:13 Six people were hospitalized after a home in a Dallas suburb was leveled by an explosion Monday afternoon, fire rescue officials said. We've received your submission. ", Tim Fitzsimons is a reporter for NBC News. The February explosion had no obvious causeno nearby sparks or fires. The first blast, which blew out the windows The Baytown Fire Department said its crews had not responded to the incident. A Texas pipeline explosion sparked a fire that could be seen from 30 miles away. Several residents on El Paso's eastside heard a loud explosion on the morning of December 30, 2021. On Wednesday afternoon, there was a second massive explosion, forcing officials to issue a mandatory evacuation for the four-mile radius surrounding the plant. Get a daily email of our original, groundbreaking stories written by our national network of award-winning reporters. He said that all other personnel at the facility, which houses a chemical plant, an olefins plant and a 560,500 barrel-per-day oil refinery, according to Reuters, had been accounted for. The windows on both sides of the building shook, and Patel, the general manager of the motel, said he could feel the blast inside his body. Engineering experts say that such seemingly spontaneous explosions can be caused by the formation of whats known as pyrophoric material. The word pyrophoric comes from the Greek fire-bearing and means capable of igniting spontaneously upon exposure to oxygen. A gas explosion in an apartment building Saturday killed at least nine people, including four children, on the island of Sakhalin in far eastern Russia, according local authorities. There is no tolerance level for explosive concentrations of vapors in tanks that are vented to the atmosphereit is unacceptable for these vapors to be near their explosive limit, said Rosselot. Texas SWAT commander killed, 4 officers injured in standoff with gunman; suspect captured, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. The explosion happened in Wallis, Texas, about 50 miles west of Houston. Some industry experts believe that the changes in the volatility of the heavy fuel oils from additives may be behind many explosions in tanks containing asphalt and No. SAN ANTONIO (AP) Authorities on Sunday continued investigating the cause of an explosion that killed three people at a San Antonio construction company. BERLIN (AP) A ship chartered by the operator of the Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline has arrived at the site of last month's explosions under the Baltic Sea to survey the damage, the company said Thursday. While the information contained in these trade publications rarely makes its way to the general public, the threat to homeowners and others in residential neighborhoods is real, given the dispersed location of such tanks throughout the country. Justin Chambers arrived at the U.S. Polyco plant in Ennis, Texas, on the morning of April 23, 2018, with a job to do. All employees have been accounted for, TPC said, confirming two employees and a contractor were injured. VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) Two people were killed Monday when a storage tank exploded at a Virginia welding business, a fire official said. Yet there is reason to believe that changes in the way asphalt and No. ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) A gasoline tanker crashed and then exploded in north-central Nigeria, killing at least 12 people, police said Friday. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. By continuing to use this site, you accept this policy. The Asphalt Institute did not respond to questions submitted to them by Inside Climate News. Our first priority is people in the community and in our facilities, the company said. Smoke billows from a fire following an explosion caused by a crash between a train and an 18-wheeler near Cameron, Texas, on Feb. 23, 2021. 6 fuel, because their emissions were thought to be negligible, are vented, allowing oxygen in and vapors out. In 2010, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board issued a safety bulletin on preventing worker deaths during hot work in and around tanks. 6 fuel oilexploded when a worker opened a hatch, allowing oxygen to enter the tank. "Plano Fire-Rescue is working diligently to determine the cause of the blast. MADISON, Wis. (AP) Federal regulators have determined that a lack of safeguards during a maintenance shutdown led to a 2018 explosion at an oil refinery in Superior. BAGHDAD (AP) A heating gas tank exploded in a residential complex in northern Iraq on Thursday, killing six people, Iraqi Kurdish officials said. this year: 5.4 in Mentone , Texas It included a section on the role that additives can play in contributing to these kinds of explosions. As least 10 people were injured in a fire caused by a natural gas explosion in Texas Friday night, officials said. RELATED: Explosion rocks mysterious Georgia monument called satanic by some, America's Stonehenge by others. Unlike pyrophoric explosions, these explosions were characterized by the use of an ignition source, like a torch, that then lit nearby vapors on fire, triggering an explosion in the tank. WebShortly before 9 a.m. this morning, loud noises disrupted work in a nitric acid unit at the Invista Chemical Plant in Victoria, Texas. After the explosion in Ennis, Tank #17 was left damaged beyond repair and in need of removal. The cause of the fire was found to be a leaking natural gas line. The explosion, which was captured on video, launched wooden boards, window glass, insulation and other debris at least 100 feet into the air in Evansville, the Evansville Courier & Press reported. The company declined to respond to detailed questions sent by Inside Climate News, citing its ongoing lawsuit with Chambers, said Alisa Rhyno, a spokeswoman for the company. Copyright 2023 KTRK-TV. In that case, it turned out the refinery had previously stored other, more volatile materials in the tank, and small amounts had remained and mixed in with the carbon black, leading to a build up of vapors inside the tank. In 2019, an explosion caused a massive blaze in the area that processes polypropylene. The explosion of the asphalt tank is a terrifying example of what can happen to dangerous and polluting facilities in our communities, Jeff Tittel, the director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, told a reporter at the time. Davis said he could not confirm whether an explosion had taken place at the facility. "Kind of like a little mini earthquake.". Over the last decade, at least 17 heated storage tanks containing asphalt or No. "We are keeping them and their families close to our hearts and hoping for a swift and full recovery. Seven or eight homes in the "very rural area" are affected, and those residents could be displaced for several days, White said. However, the institutes publication acknowledges that the additives can include lighter hydrocarbons. ISLAMABAD (AP) A hotel catering to foreign visitors in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul was attacked Monday and three of the assailants were killed, a Taliban official said. The Veracruz state civil defense office said most of the people injured in the explosion Tuesday in the town of Agua Dulce suffered first-degree burns. MINOT, N.D. (AP) A small explosion and fire disrupted care on the third floor of a Minot hospital. The explosion a night earlier in the city of Sulimaniyah destroyed three homes and also injured 16 people. We were able to look in a small cut that was in the side of the tank and actually see that he was there, Slovak said. At least three people were transported to hospital by air ambulance as authorities responded to the "major industrial accident" in Baytown, just over 25 miles east of Houston. We deliver climate news to your inbox like nobody else. On the way to the scene, ABC Houston affiliate KTRK's helicopter noticed the flames could be This article was produced in collaboration with Berkeley Journalisms Investigative Reporting Program. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) A popular Indianapolis museum was closed for a second straight day Tuesday after recent frigid temperatures caused a pipe to burst, flooding part of the museum, officials said. Two package bomb blasts a few miles apart killed a teenager and wounded two We are saddened by todays tragedy of a house explosion in our City. Police brought in an explosives detecting dog, though the dog did not discover any explosives or hazardous materials, and police determined that the site was not a crime scene. Police and multiple fire departments responded at 1 a.m. GAITHERSBURG, Md. Inside a tank, asphalt is often heated to about 300F, meaning that technically, it should be well below the point at which it could light on fire. Officials said the blast could be felt up to 30 miles away, and that by sunrise, toxic plumes could be seen for miles. Shrapnel from the tanker tore into residential buildings and into the soccer pitch. On the way to the scene, ABC Houston affiliate KTRK's helicopter noticed the flames could be