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Wow. Both of those events are incredible! I wonder how many large storage tanks like that are in urban areas nowadays..

electromagnetic 17y ago
Probably vastly more, but AFAIK most large storage tanks are required to be inspected for structural weakness every so often. The big concern for urban centres today are LPG storage tanks as they can BLEVE. It doesn't usually require any structural failure, just plain bad luck. > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__1Ym_F94CE&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__1Ym_F94CE&feature=relat... This was in north Toronto last year. IIRC a tanker caught fire at a propane refuelling facility, you can actually see the shockwave caused by the BLEVE, which was quickly followed by the massive fireball (not all BLEVE's explode, it can happen with any heated liquid from superheated water in a boiler to liquid nitrogen warming to room temperature in an enclosed vessel). > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl-JgyQA7u0&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl-JgyQA7u0&feature=relat... This is a demo video, with a decent explanation for anyone who doesn't know what a BLEVE is. It sometimes seems like the safety mechanism doesn't help, but it really does by controlling the release of energy. Fire fighters usually try to cool the tank rather than put out the fire (usually in these cases it's too dangerous to get close enough to actually try to fight the preliminary fire) as the longer the tank stays intact, the less dangerous the explosion will be. If it doesn't vent at all, you eventually get this supersized and with authentic flames: > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGWmONHipVo&feature=fvw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGWmONHipVo&feature=fvw
- aarongough 17y ago
  Yeah, I actually live in Toronto and there was news coverage for days after that explosion... I can see your point about LPG storage tanks. It's interesting how many dangers lie all about us in the modern world but we either don't know about them or simply ignore them...
  - electromagnetic 17y ago
    Large portable propane tanks can only be changed by licensed operators for exactly this reason, because people negligently allowed valves to either get damaged or corrode. This creates the potential for a BLEVE, which if it occurs next to the house (which all these tanks are inevitably placed) it can either burn the house down or, in case of solid brick houses, has actually destroyed the walls. I know back in England an old house on the main road had a BLEVE from one of these large tanks, it collapsed the rear wall and the interior structural walls, meaning the entire place was torn down. Virtually every window on the street, and the adjacent street, were shattered by the blast (including vehicle windows). The fire fighters believed the tank had been damaged by a falling slate roof tile, and the fence provided the fuel to cause the BLEVE. A year or two later and the UK brought out a law requiring large tanks to be changed by professionals, I believe Canada has similar regulations as well. I only know I wouldn't want an explosion like that happening near a cottage (where I've also seen a lot of the larger tanks).

Probably vastly more, but AFAIK most large storage tanks are required to be inspected for structural weakness every so often. The big concern for urban centres today are LPG storage tanks as they can BLEVE. It doesn't usually require any structural failure, just plain bad luck. > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__1Ym_F94CE&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__1Ym_F94CE&feature=relat... This was in north Toronto last year. IIRC a tanker caught fire at a propane refuelling facility, you can actually see the shockwave caused by the BLEVE, which was quickly followed by the massive fireball (not all BLEVE's explode, it can happen with any heated liquid from superheated water in a boiler to liquid nitrogen warming to room temperature in an enclosed vessel). > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl-JgyQA7u0&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl-JgyQA7u0&feature=relat... This is a demo video, with a decent explanation for anyone who doesn't know what a BLEVE is. It sometimes seems like the safety mechanism doesn't help, but it really does by controlling the release of energy. Fire fighters usually try to cool the tank rather than put out the fire (usually in these cases it's too dangerous to get close enough to actually try to fight the preliminary fire) as the longer the tank stays intact, the less dangerous the explosion will be. If it doesn't vent at all, you eventually get this supersized and with authentic flames: > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGWmONHipVo&feature=fvw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGWmONHipVo&feature=fvw

aarongough 17y ago
Yeah, I actually live in Toronto and there was news coverage for days after that explosion... I can see your point about LPG storage tanks. It's interesting how many dangers lie all about us in the modern world but we either don't know about them or simply ignore them...
- electromagnetic 17y ago
  Large portable propane tanks can only be changed by licensed operators for exactly this reason, because people negligently allowed valves to either get damaged or corrode. This creates the potential for a BLEVE, which if it occurs next to the house (which all these tanks are inevitably placed) it can either burn the house down or, in case of solid brick houses, has actually destroyed the walls. I know back in England an old house on the main road had a BLEVE from one of these large tanks, it collapsed the rear wall and the interior structural walls, meaning the entire place was torn down. Virtually every window on the street, and the adjacent street, were shattered by the blast (including vehicle windows). The fire fighters believed the tank had been damaged by a falling slate roof tile, and the fence provided the fuel to cause the BLEVE. A year or two later and the UK brought out a law requiring large tanks to be changed by professionals, I believe Canada has similar regulations as well. I only know I wouldn't want an explosion like that happening near a cottage (where I've also seen a lot of the larger tanks).