Buncefield fire

Buncefield fire
The fire ten minutes after the explosion as seen from Hunters Oak, 0.59 miles (0.95 km) away.
Date11 December 2005 (2005-12-11)
Time06:01 UTC
LocationHemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom
Casualties
43 injuries
2 serious injuries
0 fatalities
Buncefield fire is located in Hertfordshire
Buncefield fire
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Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire

The Buncefield fire was a major fire at an oil storage facility that started at 06:01 UTC on Sunday 11 December 2005 at the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal,[1] located near the M1 motorway, Hemel Hempstead, in Hertfordshire, England.[2][3] The terminal was the fifth largest oil-products storage depot in the United Kingdom, with a capacity of about 60 million Imperial gallons (273 million litres) of fuel.[3][4] The terminal is owned by Total UK Limited (60%) and Texaco (40%).[5][6][7][8]

The first and largest explosion occurred near tank 912,[6][9] which led to further explosions which eventually overwhelmed 20 large storage tanks.[10] The emergency services announced a major emergency at 06:08 and a firefighting effort began. The cause of the explosion was a fuel-air explosion in a vapour cloud of evaporated leaking petrol. The British Geological Survey monitored the event, which measured 2.4 on the Richter scale.[4][9][11] News reports described the incident as the biggest of its kind in peacetime Europe[12] and certainly the biggest such explosion in the United Kingdom since the 1974 Flixborough disaster.[1][13] The flames had been extinguished by the afternoon of 13 December 2005. However, one storage tank reignited that evening, which firefighters left to burn rather than attempting to extinguish it again.[3][5]

The Health Protection Agency and the Major Incident Investigation Board provided advice to prevent incidents such as these in the future.[14] The primary need is for safety measures to be in place to prevent fuel escaping the tanks in which it is stored.[15] Added safety measures are needed for when fuel does escape, mainly to prevent it forming a flammable vapour and stop pollutants from poisoning the environment.[15]

  1. ^ a b "Buncefield tank 'was overflowing'". BBC News. 9 May 2006. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
  2. ^ "Can sound really travel 200 miles?". BBC News. 13 December 2005. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Massive blaze rages at fuel depot was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Total liable for Buncefield blast was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b White, David. "Buncefield: One Year Later". Industrial Fire World. 21 (6). Archived from the original on 30 November 2009.
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Fire Rages After Blasts at Oil Depot was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Trial starts for Buncefield compensation claims was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Buncefield Fire". Total. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
  9. ^ a b "Hemel Hempstead Area". British Geological Survey. 11 December 2005. Archived from the original on 26 January 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference How Buncefield fire unfolded was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Five firms charged over oil blast was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ "Buncefield 16 years on: A firefighter's story". Watford Observer. 11 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Buncefield report". Hertsdirect.org. Archived from the original on 4 November 2007. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
  14. ^ "Lessons from the Buncefield Fire". HPA Press Office. 11 September 2006. Archived from the original on 11 December 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2009.
  15. ^ a b "Buncefield Major Incident Investigation Board Publish Recommendations on the Design and Operation of Fuel Storage Sites". MIIB. 29 March 2007. Archived from the original on 18 July 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2009.