Firefighters extinguish final blazing tank at UK fuel depot

London (AFP)--13Dec2005

Firefighters battling a massive fire at a Total-run fuel depot near
London said they extinguished the last blazing tank on Tuesday, nearly 60
hours after a huge blast and fire destroyed most of the UK's fifth-largest
fuel depot.

     Flames were still leaping high into the sky from burning fuel at the
depot near Hemel Hempstead, 25 miles northwest of London, however, as smaller
fires continued to burn.

     "There are still some small bund (concrete container) fires but the tanks
are out," Hertfordshire chief fire officer Roy Wilsher said.

     He said some minor fires had broken out during the day, including jet
flames from broken valves blasting out oil.

     Health officials were closely monitoring the impact of the huge plume of
smoke blackening the sky over the county of Hertfordshire.

     Police said they had begin the process of helping business owners,
managers and residents back into their premises, apart from those living
closest to the site.

      After having spent all day Sunday cooling off seven tanks that had not
caught fire, the firefighters began Monday morning fighting the blaze that
appears to have begun by accident.

     The real work was delayed until they had satisfied concerns that their
foam and water mix would not pollute nearby ground water. They also had to
wait for around 250,000 liters of foam concentrate to be sent from around the
country.

     Work has also been interrupted twice due to the risk of more tanks
exploding, including one feared to contain volatile substances.

     A series of explosions tore sections of walls off buildings in an
industrial park, smashed windows and dented doors of homes, ripped tiles from
rooftops, burned trees and incinerated at least half a dozen cars over a wide
area.

     The fire caused widespread traffic disruption including closing down
sections of the M1 motorway, a main artery north from London.

     The depot, jointly run by Total (60%) and Chevron (40%), was able to
store up to 77-mil liters of gasoline, diesel and jet, some of which was
distributed to the main UK airports Heathrow and Gatwick.

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