Fire World Review
On an October afternoon in 1989, industrial fire expert David White was conducting a safety presentation at a plant in Pasadena, Texas. That presentation was cut short by a tremendous explosion. One mile away, a mushroom cloud rose from a neighboring chemical complex that, moments before, had been responsible for one-third of the world's polyethylene production.
That blast ranks as the worst U.S. industrial disaster since Texas City in 1947.
The Pasadena explosion is only one of 30 such incidents explored in Disasters Man-Made, written by White and Anton Riecher. The team that has made
Industrial Fire World magazine the leading publication in industrial
emergency response has put together a chronicle of industrial crises big
and small, detailing how responders deal with a rapidly evolving crisis that threatens lives, property and livelihoods. These are the details that you
won't hear on the 5 O'Clock News about firefighters weighing their lives
against the economic impact of a community losing a plant or refinery.
For more information, CLICK HERE.
█ DISASTERS MAN-MADE
Book details emergency response to industrial disasters
Category: Non-fiction, current events, firefighting
Format: Hardcover, 320 pages
On Sale: April 11
Price: $29.95 (Postage and Handling Not Included)
ISBN 978-0-815-44419-2
TO ORDER ONLINE, CLICK HERE
DAVID WHITE is president of Industrial Fire World, the largest circulation publication in industrial fire and emergency response in the world. He is also president of Fire & Safety Specialists, providing training and needs analysis for industry worldwide. A former instructor at the Texas Firemens Training School at Texas A&M University, White developed the state's first recruit firefighter training program. He
began his fire service career 48 years ago as a volunteer firefighter in McAllen, Texas. He shares his experience in the hope that firefighters in the future might not have to learn these lessons the way firefighters of his generation did - the hard way. To learn more about David White, CLICK HERE.
ANTON RIECHER, editor of Industrial Fire World, is a career journalist who has worked across Texas. In the last 15 years he has dedicated himself to interviewing those involved in industrial fire protection and bringing the reality of their experiences to print.
CONTENTS
I. Old Flames
█ Wrong Pasadena - CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO
1989 chemical plant explosion rocks the Houston Ship Channel
█ Lost Weekend - CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO
Largest U.S. refinery hit by explosion and massive fire in 1955
█ Sunray
Texas town honors those lost in a 1956 refinery explosion
█ Magpetco
1974 tank fire near Beaumont, Texas, is legendary among responders
█ Milford Haven - CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO
UK firefighters narrowly escape a classic storage tank boilover in 1983
█ A Slight Defect - CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO
1984 refinery explosion holds record for most plant firefighters killed
█ Spherical Aberration - CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO
1984 Mexico City LPG explosion kills nearly 2,000 people
█ Bad Santa - CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO
Christmas 1989 explosion sets a Baton Rouge refinery ablaze
█ Wait Until Dark
1991 Louisiana chemical plant explosion takes toll on responders
CLICK HERE FOR SECTION II - THE PROFESSIONALS
"HEY, DID YOU DO THAT?"
At 1:04 p.m., Monday, October 23, 1989, my presentation to key management in charge of safety at one of the largest chemical plants in Pasadena, TX, had just begun. Just call the place Bystander Inc.
The conference room lights were dimmed for a lengthy slide presentation. Painstakingly, I worked through a series of images
illustrating industrial calamity at its most destructive.
"Ladies and gentlemen," I said, "imagine if you had a major explosion."
Without warning, a thunderous concussion slammed our ears. Ceiling tiles crashed down. Every molecule of existence heaved like a sick drunk. It was as if God's celestial CD player skipped from Track 1 - "The Magic That Is David White" - to Track 13 - "Enola Gay Delivers the Goods."
Of course, some class clown asked if this was part of the presentation.
"No," I said, not at all amused. "Your friggin' plant just blew up."
"This book chronicles thirty major industrial emergencies. The descriptions are very well documented, complete and describe what led up to the incident and how the emergency was handled.It is smart to examine and study the past to get ready for the future. Well-stated history lessons expand and strengthen our imagination because they reduce fireground surprises. Pay attention as you read this book because it eliminates the need and associated pain for us to live through every possible experience to learn the lessons of that experience we will repeat those lessons until they are learned."
Alan V. Brunacini, Fire Chief (ret) Phoenix Fire Department
David White & I have served this industry for well over 40 years. We both have
and continue to have a passion to communicate those lessons learned that
will protect lives and property. We have worked many fires. To mention a few;
the Orion refinery fire Norco, Louisiana, involving a 270 foot diameter storage
tank, the Jupiter Ship Fire in Bay City, Michigan, the Philips Fire in
Pasadena, Texas, and many more. David certainly tells what he believes
to be the absolute truth. This book is a historical account of many different
large fires that often produce like problems. Unfortunately the lessons
learned are quickly forgotten. Experience is the best teacher. In reality,
David's accounts are like being there in the heat of battle and on many
of the emergencies I was. It is a very good account of the way it was.
Dwight Williams, Williams Fire & Hazard Control
The largest gasoline storage tank fire on record to have been successfully extinguished with product saved.
Still holds the record as the worst U.S. industrial disaster since Texas City in 1947.
A 2005 explosion at an oil depot near London ranks as the largest blast in the U.K. since World War II.
A train wreck in Graniteville, South Carolina, released a chlorine cloud that resulted in multiple deaths.
Four workers died in an explosion involving a runaway chemical reaction at a plant in Jacksonville, Florida.
Firefighters in suburban Cleveland battle an intense blaze involving water-reactive magnesium at a recycling facility.
INDUSTRIAL FIRE WORLD EMERGENCY
RESPONDER TRAINING & EXPO
April 11 through 14, 2011
Renaissance Riverview Plaza Hotel - Mobile, Alabama
The first official signing for Disasters Man-Made will be conducted during the annual IFW training expo. Check back for further information as it becomes available.
To Learn More About This Event, CLICK HERE
Contact Us
P.O. Box 9161
College Station, Texas 77845
TEL (979) 690-7559
FAX (979) 690-7562
E-mail ind_fireworld.com
II.The Professionals
█ Big Rain, Big Fire -CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO
Responders extinguish 2001 record-setting storage tank fire in Louisiana
█ Buncefield - CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO
Overfilled storage tank triggers 2005 blast ranked as worst in UK since WW2
█ Homemade Napalm -CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO
Grounded oil freighter torched rather than risk polluting Oregon shore
█ Excess Acid
Capsized barge hauling acid gives Coast Guard a 10-day stomach ache
█ Cold Explosion
Nebraska rubber recycling plant fire tests a small town's tenacity
█ A Road Across Hell - CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO
Firefighters beat lengthy predictions on extinguishing California tire fire
█ Nighttime on the City of New Orleans
Industrial responders rush to join rescue after an Amtrak train wreck
█ Be Careful What You Wish For - CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO
Experts work with local firefighters to extinguish a tank fire in Texas
CLICK HERE FOR SECTION III - TRIAL BY FIRE
III.Trial by Fire
█ Green Zone
A South Carolina train wreck unleashes a deadly chlorine cloud on a small town█ Unpleasantville
Houston firefighters face a repeat match with a massive warehouse blaze
█ Batch 175 - CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO
Batch reactor explodes at Florida chemical plant, killing four workers
█ Racked Up
High-rack storage facility collapses at a printing plant in rural Wisconsin
█ Heavy Box
Explosive high pressure release at a Houston plant forces firefighters to improvise
█ Bittersweet -CLICK HERE FOR VIDE0
Dust at a sugar refinery near Savannah, Georgia, proves as explosive as TNT
█ River of Fire
Flames spread through seven whiskey warehouses at a Kentucky distillery
█ Rubber Dust
Rubber dust explosion tears apart a North Carolina medical supply factory
█ Mutual Respect
Small-town firefighters battle a plastics plant fire in Illinois
█ Witches' Brew
North Carolina responders battle an ever expanding hazmat emergency
█ Fire Bad, Water Worse
Nearly 1,000 tons of burning magnesium tests Ohio firefighters
█ Knowing When to Quit
Kansas volunteers push their luck fighting a rural oil tank fire
█ The No-Win Scenario
No water leaves Texas firefighters with few options battling a plant fire
█ Local Heroes -CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO
North Carolina responders praised for extinguishing storage tank fire
The T2 Laboratories explosion as recorded by an infrared surveillance camera four miles away. At right, the cooling towers of a power plant near T2 stand 640 feet tall.
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