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Coffee House => Coffee House Boards => CH / General => Topic started by: blobrana on December 12, 2005, 01:18:42 PM

Title: Hemel Hempstead
Post by: blobrana on December 12, 2005, 01:18:42 PM
Firefighters are mounting a massive operation to smother the ferocious fire still raging at a Hertfordshire oil depot after more than 24 hours.
The crews have been working through the night to contain the blaze, maintaining a curtain of water between the flames and seven unexploded fuel tanks, each thought to hold three million gallons of fuel.
The fire, at the Buncefield depot, near Hemel Hempstead, follows a series of blasts which began early on Sunday injuring 42 people, two seriously.

A huge plume of choking smoke continues to billow from the site, spreading out across southern England from the 20 or more fuel tanks that had been destroyed.
The effects of the explosion were reportedly felt in Oxfordshire, and it was heard as far away as the Netherlands after 70 million gallons blew up...

(http://static.flickr.com/35/72787596_c040358dd8_o.jpg)

Massive smoke clouds have started drifting towards Swindon and Reading, in Berkshire.
Weblink: (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/05/in_pictures_depot_fire_continues/html/1.stm)
Title: Re: Hemel Hempstead
Post by: Linchpin on December 12, 2005, 01:31:46 PM
Bad news... at least nobody was killed.

Been on the news a lot this morning.
Title: Re: Hemel Hempstead
Post by: blobrana on December 12, 2005, 01:34:41 PM
The two guys working at the plant survived!?
Title: Re: Hemel Hempstead
Post by: jkirk on December 12, 2005, 03:12:52 PM

according to this article there were no casualties yet.

cnn story (http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/12/12/britain.blasts/index.html)

Quote
Forty-three people were taken to hospitals for their injuries, Whitely said, but the majority were "walking casualties." All but two have been released, he said, and those two do not have life-threatening injuries.
Title: Re: Hemel Hempstead
Post by: uncharted on December 12, 2005, 03:35:42 PM
The Uni I just transfered from is about 10 miles away from the blast.  My mates there told me that the blast made their houses shake.

My mate Adam said that there is a really strong chemical-y smell all around.
Title: Re: Hemel Hempstead
Post by: bloodline on December 12, 2005, 04:01:16 PM
Quote

uncharted wrote:
The Uni I just transfered from is about 10 miles away from the blast.  My mates there told me that the blast made their houses shake.

My mate Adam said that there is a really strong chemical-y smell all around.


I didn't hear anything... I must have been asleep.
Title: Re: Hemel Hempstead
Post by: Wilse on December 12, 2005, 04:28:18 PM
Live press conference on BBC News 24 just now.
Title: Re: Hemel Hempstead
Post by: uncharted on December 12, 2005, 08:49:41 PM
Knowing my mates, it had to be pretty bad to wake them at any time before 12noon.
Title: Re: Hemel Hempstead
Post by: Karlos on December 13, 2005, 01:41:38 AM
I'm surprised there have been no tactless jokes yet...
Title: Re: Hemel Hempstead
Post by: Wilse on December 13, 2005, 07:38:42 PM
Quote
I'm surprised there have been no tactless jokes yet...


Well, on a personal level, I haven't been sober long enough to think of any.
Can't speak for anyone else though. :-)
Title: Re: Hemel Hempstead
Post by: bloodline on December 13, 2005, 08:09:43 PM
Quote

Karlos wrote:
I'm surprised there have been no tactless jokes yet...


Disasters in the UK aren't as funny as ones in other countries...
Title: Re: Hemel Hempstead
Post by: uncharted on December 13, 2005, 08:22:12 PM
As disasters go, it's pretty dull if you think about it.
Title: Re: Hemel Hempstead
Post by: Doobrey on December 13, 2005, 09:28:12 PM
Quote

Wilse wrote:
 I haven't been sober long enough to think of any.

I have been sober for too long, and I can't think of any jokes either..

Had to laugh at the radio news at work yesterday though. One minute they're yapping on about the environmental impact and complaining that they haven't even tried to put the fire out, then the next minute they start saying the fire services shouldn't try to use foam because of possible environmental problems..sheesh, damned if you do, damned if you dont.
 WTF did they expect them to use? A 500ft wet tea towel maybe?
Title: Re: Hum Hump instead
Post by: blobrana on December 14, 2005, 03:22:15 AM
>>As disasters go, it's pretty dull

Yeah,
No big deal for most of us - only 70 million gallons...

That`s just a drop compared with what got burned up in iraq.

Title: Re: Hum Hump instead
Post by: Karlos on December 14, 2005, 05:19:17 PM
You might see a similar looking thing on a smaller scale repeated in Manchester soon. Had a curry with my colleages for a staff jolly last night and I've neen brewing a dark, chthonic evil in the pit of my stomach all day...
Title: Re: Hum Hump instead
Post by: bloodline on December 14, 2005, 05:32:17 PM
Quote

Karlos wrote:
You might see a similar looking thing on a smaller scale repeated in Manchester soon. Had a curry with my colleages for a staff jolly last night and I've neen brewing a dark, chthonic evil in the pit of my stomach all day...


since curry obviously doesn't agree with you... WHY do you still eat them? :-D
Title: Re: Hum Hump instead
Post by: Karlos on December 14, 2005, 05:34:11 PM
They agree with me just fine. It's my a*se they argue with.

Kenny once put it rather well, something like:

Alcoholics have hangovers...
Druggies have their come-downs...
Curry addicts have to keep refrigerated loo paper and calamine lotion handy to pay for their vice...
Title: Re: Hemel Hempstead
Post by: Wilse on December 14, 2005, 06:15:03 PM
Actually, today I saw something along the lines of:

The family of George Best today admitted the decision not to bury him and instead cremate his remains in Hemel Hempsted was an error of judgement.

So, I guess that's two sick jokes in one.