Excerpted from EmergencyNet News Daily Report - 07/06/96 -Vol. 2, #188
Fire/EMS News Briefs From the EmergencyNetsm
ENN 7/6/96 07:30
Train vrs. Gasoline Tanker Prompts Major Response
JENNINGS, LOUISIANA (ENN) - A six-block area was evacuated and more than 150 firefighters
spent more than 90 minutes to contain fires that were ignited when a freight train collided with a gasoline
tanker truck on Friday. The collision set off explosions and fires at a nearby fuel distribution plant and a
welding company. It was reported that flames shot 150 feet into the air.
Eleven people were injured in the incident, including four firefighters who were treated for heat
exhaustion. Only one of the victims was admitted into a hospital. That person suffered first- and
second-degree burns.
The driver of the truck told police that the crossing arm came down over the railroad tracks when he
was only part way across. The driver jumped out of the truck just before the freight train struck the
tanker truck and ruptured the tank. The fire caused by the collision extended to the nearby Exxon plant
and ignited several 55-gallon tanks and destroyed several outbuildings at the plant. The fire also
extended to a welding company where acetylene and oxygen tanks were stored. The welding company
was also destroyed by fire.
Firefighters were successful in the keeping the fire from extending to three large tanks that contained
more than 50,000 gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel. They were also able to keep flames away from
other freight cars that contained hazardous materials. A hazardous materials situation was called for
because authorities were concerned that gasoline may have leaked into the city sewer system. Jennings
is a town of about 12,000 people that is located about 35 miles east of Lake Charles in the
southwestern part of the state.
ENN 7/6/96 07:45
Chemical Plant Fire in Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS (ENN) - It took firefighters about four hours to bring under control a blaze that was
sparked by a fire in a tanker truck that extended to a chemical plant near downtown Indianapolis on
Friday. A series of explosions from the plant forced authorities to evacuate several city blocks just south
of the downtown area.
The blaze started in a tanker truck and quickly extended to the plant that makes industrial lubricants and
cleaners. The roof of the plant's main building did reportedly collapse. No toxic materials were released
into the air.
ENN 7/6/96 08:59
FDNY Vehicles Collide With Each Other
NEW YORK CITY (ENN) - Eleven members of the FDNY were slightly injured on Friday when two
fire vehicles collided with one another while responding to an emergency call in Brooklyn. The trucks
crashed into one another at the corner of Leonard Street and Richardson Street at 1042 EDT. The
injured firefighters were treated and released from Bellevue Hospital.
ENN 7/6/96 09:03
2nd Alarm in the Bronx
NEW YORK CITY (ENN) - Firefighters in the Bronx on Friday night battled a 2nd Alarm on Box
2411 at 750 Bryant Avenue. At about 1715 EDT, fire was reported in a 6-story brick H-type
apartment building with dimensions of 150x125.
ENN 7/6/96 09:06
Frisco Suburban Firefighters Battle 4th Alarm in Warehouse
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA (ENN) - Firefighters in the suburbs of San Francisco
fought a 4 alarm fire at 333 Oyster Point on Friday night. A warehouse building was reported to be fully
involved. Time of the alarm was at about 1700 PDT.
ENN 7/6/96 09:08
Minnesota Firefighters Have 2nd Alarm
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA (ENN) - On Friday afternoon, Minneapolis firefighters battled a 2nd
Alarm on Box 414F at 2511 Lyndale Avenue. At about 1300 CDT, fire was reported on the second
floor and in the cockloft of a 2.5-story wood frame dwelling.
ENN 7/6/96 09:12
NFD Fights 2nd Alarm in Frame Building
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY (ENN) - On Thursday night, the Newark Fire Department had a 2nd
Alarm on Box 1356 at 3rd and Dickenson. A 2-story wood frame building was reported to be fully
involved. Time of the alarm was at about 2215 EDT.
ENN 7/6/96 09:14
San Antonio FFs Engage 2nd Alarm Apartment Building
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (ENN) - Firefighters in the Texas city of San Antonio battled a 2 alarm fire
at 100 Pearwalk on Thursday morning. At about 0830 CDT, the second floor of an apartment building
was reported to be fully involved.
ENN 7/6/96 09:17
DFD Fights Apartment Fire
DENVER (ENN) - Early on Thursday morning, Denver had a 2 alarm fire that destroyed four units of
an apartment building. The only location given was on East Virginia and the time of the alarm was at
about 0630 MDT.
ENN 7/6/96 08:53
Sightseeing Boat Collision; 20 Injured in NYC
NEW YORK CITY (ENN) - A sightseeing boat collided with a tugboat on the East River on Thursday
night. Twenty of the 205 passengers aboard the sightseeing vessel suffered injuries. Eight of the victims
were hospitalized.
The collision occurred at about 2200 EDT, moments after the New York City fireworks show ended. A
Waterway spokesman said that the tug was anchored near the Williamsburg Bridge when the sightseeing
vessel "bumped" it. The pilot of the boat decided to make an emergency docking at a pier on the
Brooklyn side of the river, near North First Street and Kent Avenue.
(c) Emergencynet News Service, 1996, All Rights Reserved. All times indicated are CDT and signify
the completion time of the report, not the incident.