Fire

[pensnest]

We were woken at six this morning by the most almighty bang. Felt as though lightning had struck the house and done serious damage.

No, not lightning. There are flames visible above the trees from our back windows, the smoke is incredible, and the early morning is full of sirens. The Beast's hypothesis is that the local oil depot has exploded. There have been three subsequent, smaller, bangs since. It's not much more than a mile from here.

Haven't heard it on the news yet. But it's a serious fire. Probable fatalities.

Comments

[quiet000001.livejournal.com]

... woah.

How's the house?

[pensnest]

House is fine - sky is orange! It was the first item on the news at 7, not surprisingly. The police have just said there are casualties, but no details. Apparently the bang was heard as far away as central London, so no wonder the house shook.

[quiet000001.livejournal.com]

yeah, I know someone in London who mentioned it. :) I pointed her at your lj post since there wasn't anything on the bbc at that point. (Tehre is now.)

I hope it doesn't turn out to be a terrorist. I'll have an almighty battle about coming home on my hands. :P

[pensnest]

These days the possibility of terrorism is going to be raised, whatever happens. And this is, indeed, at least a plausible target - even though there are 'better' ones. Unlikely, though, given the fact that oil storage is inherently vulnerable to, well, exploding.

Wow. Now that it is light, the incredible plume of black smoke is... wow. It's lying over the sky like a layer of cloud. But we haven't had police knocking on the door telling us to move to Kent, or anything...

[chrismm.livejournal.com]

Lord. I'm just glad you and yours are all alright. How frightening!

[pensnest]

Indeed yes - being woken by such a terrific bang was a very startling way to begin Sunday. But the house - Beast has just been inspecting it - seems fine. Some people closer to the scene have been reporting broken windows and such, which we seem to have escaped.

Smoke still billowing up at a goodly rate in a thick plume of dark brown.

[trumpeterofdoom.livejournal.com]

Oh dear lord. I'm just glad you and quiet000001 are OK.

[pensnest]

Me too! Thanks.

[rikes]

Wow, it's on the news now. Scary indeed. I'm glad to hear you're OK.

[pensnest]

The BBC Website's report has a very clear picture of the smoke, which looks mighty dramatic.

[turloughishere.livejournal.com]

OMG! I'm so glad you're far enough away from the explosion to not suffer any damage. But what a shock waking up like that! *shudder* I hope they'll get things under controll and dampened down as soon as possible.

PS I didn't realise you lived that close to London. I was going to look Hemel Hempstead up on one of my maps, but then I forgot all about it.

[pensnest]

It was a rather abrupt way to start the morning! Beast went outside to look for house damage, and the street was almost immediately thronging with similarly dressing-gowned people doing the same thing. We heard another 'thunder roll' an hour or so ago. But all is reasonably peaceful now, though the mighty brown cloud is a bit intimidating.

[bun18.livejournal.com]

My god! That was a shocking thing to see on the news when I got out of bed. Glad you are all OK.

[pensnest]

Hi, Bun. I didn't realise you looked at the news, or I'd have tried phoning you. Good thing I reported in to LJ, then! Yep, we're fine, and the house doesn't seem to have suffered (the loft hatch was displaced, oddly). *hugs*

[bun18.livejournal.com]

Yes I'm glad you did post or I would have called you.

I have safari set to go to the BBC homepage every time I open a new window. I figured it would be a good idea since I don't have a radio or a TV and I don't read any newspapers.

[pensnest]

How very sensible. *beams* Hadn't thought of you having no radio - I can't imagine surviving without one. Do you want to put that on your Christmas list?

[bun18.livejournal.com]

Hmm, yeah OK why not. I'd also quite like some iTunes Music Store credit on the list too please.

[dine.livejournal.com]

I'm awfully glad your house and family are fine - what a dramatic way to wake! photos on the BBC site are sure amazing; I hope things are contained soon and they're able to begin cleaning up.

[pensnest]

It's quite strange, actually - it kinda feels as if we ought to be running around doing something that isn't normal, because there's an enormous blue plume of smoke covering a substantial part of the sky. Yet I've just been out (checking on quiet00001's house) and there's really no damage around here. I expect things are different on the industrial estate, nearer the depot - but those nice big office buildings must have shielded the rest of us.

[ephemera.livejournal.com]

I am so glad to see that you've checked in as ok - I've been avoiding the outside world all day, sot he first I knew was a friend of mine in St Albans hearing the explosion.

[pensnest]

Your friend probably had a thoroughly intimidating black cloud over the house all day, too. All terribly exciting. Fortunately, nobody seems to have been killed.

[ninjetti75.livejournal.com]

Oh my, what a day...

Glad nothing too serious came out of it all... ..but GEEZE, that's a lot fuel destroyed! Will that drive prices up painfully?

[pensnest]

Dunno whether the lost fuel is going to make an impact on prices, exactly, but Beast, who in fact works for an oil company, says that there will be increased costs in getting fuel to the petrol stations, because instead of being brought here by pipeline and then out in road tankers, it's going to have to be distributed in tankers from the depots in London and wherever. Moving petrol by road is a *lot* more costly than moving it through a pipeline - but of course, that is shut down at the moment. The oil companies will probably be accused of exploiting the situation and the customers, because that always happens when prices rise, our press being apparently uninterested in discovering actual causes.

The fire is still burning - or at least, if it ain't it's been put out within the last hour or so. It seems that when that happens we shall have the pleasure of low-lying smoke, with there being no heat to drive it high... Oh well.