CSB Safety Video: Emergency in Apex

Emergency in Apex
Hazardous Waste Fire and Community Evacuation
Late in the evening of October 5, 2006, a fire broke out, followed by dozens of explosions, at a hazardous waste transfer facility in Apex, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. This CSB video features a computer animation depicting the origin and spread of the fire, and includes descriptions of the evacuation and firefighting effort by Apex officials, including Mayor Keith Weatherly, Fire Chief Mark Haraway, and Police Chief Jack Lewis. Residents describe their reaction and concerns over the accident and aftermath.

[@geraldrob5150]

I find it amazing that, as a restaurant manager, I had more responsibility to report and had a greater frequency of inspections (by multiple government agencies) than a hazardous materials handling facility.

[@RiversJ]

The people who own the agencies with the authority and responsibility for regulation do not live near hazardous materials facilities ever. They do however like to eat at restaurants quite often.

[@Brian_yeah_that_brian_Strang]

True story

[@BertGraef]

maybe because you restaurant people have sickened a lot of others with your unsafe practices. Take log out of own eye first.

[@Darkhunter190able]

You have less money

[@The_rain_bow_loom_girl]

As an Industrial mechanic, I absolutely hear you on that brother. If OSHA was a fraction as component as CSB we would all be at least 90% safer!!! (Rough estimate lol).

[@RONWOLPA]

On may 11 1996 , ValuJet Flight 592 crashed due to a fire on cargo compartment. In violation of FAA regulations ,which forbids the transport of hazardous materials in passenger aircraft , there were 5 boxes with expired chemical oxygen generators , like those that started the fire at Apex.

[@Islacrusez]

Ron Wolpa worse, they were incorrectly detailed on the manifest. Worse still, the cargo bay fire control mechanism was that of passive oxygen deprivation - rendered completely useless by carrying oxygen generators.

[@REXXSEVEN]

@@Islacrusez Bro.....wow.... You just can't make this stuff up. Install oxygen deprivation devices stop a fire, then fill the entire area full of oxygen giving equipment. Nothing could possibly go wrong with that.

[@Syclone0044]

Perhaps you didn’t notice the video specifically mentions the ValuJet 592 incident - they said the NTSB test-cell footage of burning the aircraft oxygen canisters was from the NTSB ValuJet investigation. Btw I recently sold some spare new DJI Mavic drone batteries (lithium ion) and WOW was that a PITA! I had to do hours of research to figure out a solution which essentially boiled down to: use only USPS Parcel Post (strictly ground) because USPS Priority Mail and others usually involve aircraft - PASSENGER aircraft on which USPS Mail hitches a ride. Thus, loose/spare lithium ion batteries cannot be shipped that way, unless you use more costly UPS or FedEx, who have their own cargo aircraft, so the passenger issue isn’t applicable. However I recently watched an air crash documentary of a UPS cargo plane that crashed due to large shipments of lithium ion batteries that ignited and burned so intensely the onboard fire suppression failed to quell it, and the fire raged so quickly that the two pilots were overcome with smoke and incapacitated - the copilot fell unconscious literally as he ran to get his breathing mask equipment. I had to affix 2 or 3 fancy big warning labels 📦 too so it would be obvious to anyone handling it that it must not go aboard a passenger aircraft. If the batteries are defective or failing, then NOBODY wants to handle them. I’m curious what companies have consumers do when there is some kind of large recall, like maybe the Samsung Galaxy Note fiasco....?

[@geraldrob5150]

@@Syclone0044 Due diligence on your part. Cargo like this should never be on ANY aircraft. Even if the hazards to passengers is not an issue there still remains hazards to the crew and more importantly people on the ground. An aircraft brought down by sudden catastrophe may be well beyond the pilots ability and intent to avoid collateral damage. I shudder to think of an occupied school, hospital or ballpark being caught unawares in such a catastrophe.

[@Crazy-Cat-Lady-of-CA]

@@geraldrob5150 A plane was brought down by lithium batteries. UPS flight 6 had 18000 of them in their cargo area. After take off, the batteries caught on fire. Due to the first officer not giving up, the plane missed a heavily populated neighborhood and into a empty part of a military base. The two pilots were the only fatalities.

[@steve1978ger]

"The Environmental Quality Company"... you couldn't make this up as a joke.

[@AexisRai]

nominative determinism at work

[@TheTrainChasingPoet1999]

"Environmental Quality", my ass!

[@TheNefastor]

The CSB has a similar video about a company called "Clean Energy". Guess how "clean" it actually is ?

[@TheTrainChasingPoet1999]

@@TheNefastor I've seen that video. Deadly Practices, it's called.

[@TheNefastor]

@@TheTrainChasingPoet1999 indeed.

[@tacosattack282]

We have a fire containment room just for our cardboard recycling, these guys specialised in hazardous waste and didn't even put a wall between the oxidisers and flammables? Wow

[@amberblyledge7859]

Scientists are sometimes narrow minded. I say that knowing many very well. Just look at some of the names of animals or plants.

[@silentype3008]

No only did they not put a wall, they stack them all together. The way the warehouse is represented in this video it looks like a disorganized hodgepodge of chemical waste.

[@tomwebb3081]

Our oxygen store had to be outside, locked and stored with *nothing* else, especially anything flammable.

[@samschannel531]

No wall between flammable sand oxidizers? That’s just pure stupidity.

[@kaylawuvscookies]

@@amberblyledge7859 Scientists? More like the capitalist fat cats running the EPA, OSHA, etc skimming the budgets to line their pockets.

[@Gunshinzero]

6:36 What do you have in there Mr Plant Manager? Bunch of dangerous stuff you wouldn't want in a fire. ....Uh, okay. thanks for the detailed information.....

[@NiceMuslimLady]

Let me put it this way, Mr. Firefighter. You name it...we have it! And, boy, do we HAVE it!!!

[@REXXSEVEN]

@@NiceMuslimLady lmaoo!!!!!!!!!

[@Aimismyname]

i'll tell you what we don't have, miscellanous shit

[@harleyspeedthrust4013]

Plant manager was useless

[@timheersma4708]

Sprinkler system is likely too simplistic for this facility. Foam suppression systems would be required for proper fire control depending on the material stored. Off site (computer accessible) daily lists of stored material available to first responders would give them some kind of idea what they are dealing with and a site map showing location of stored materials would also help.

[@koriko88]

Probably, but since the EPA doesn't make requirements beyond "fire suppression equipment", a sprinkler system would have been better than nothing. Along with firewalls and a fire alarm, sprinklers may have kept things cool enough so that the fire may have been contained to just the oxiders without getting into the pesticides. If they had arrived and noticed sprinklers keeping the fire from spreading, the fire department may even have been able to go in with foam and put the fire down.

[@hauntedshadowslegacy2826]

My concern with foam suppression is that foam is meant to isolate the fire from oxygen. When the source of the fire is also producing oxygen, that wouldn't help.

[@Theinatoriinator]

@@hauntedshadowslegacy2826 It would definitely help in the areas without oxidizers such as the flammable bay or the pesticides bay.

[@3sierra15]

CEO: What's our hazardous waste safety plan? Safety manager: Choose a state that has no hazardous waste rules. CEO: What's our plan for fire control equipment? Safety manager: Find a state that doesn't require any. CEO: What's our hazmat reporting plan? Safety manager: Build in a state that doesn't ask for reports. CEO: What's our plan for notifying 911 after hours? Safety manager: Let the local citizens do it.

[@eastcoastitalian8758]

Ouch, this about sums it up lmfao

[@NiceMuslimLady]

What could POSSIBLY go wrong?

[@LordSandwichII]

CEO: What's our plan if the state introduces all those rules? Safety manager: Pff! They won't! (they did)

[@GC-qe8vc]

CEO: What's our plan if the state introduces all those rules? Safety manager: Lobby intensively to get Republicans who consider all those rules as "government red tape" elected. (they also did)

[@KaaneDragonShinobi]

Reverse the script. The CEOs are the ones concerned about profit. At least most of the safety officers/managers i've listened to on the internet seem very concerned with their jobs and keeping people safe.

[@charvakkarpe]

It's nice the fire chief and police chief promptly evacuated the entire community instead of waiting around or not doing anything because they lacked info. Probably saved a lot of lives. These are some top notch emergency responders.

[@DanafoxyVixen]

Portable fire extinguishers do not count as "Fire Control Equipment" if a human isn't there to operate them.... as it becomes 'equipment unable to control fires'

[@flailios]

You've got to question the intelligence of anyone who puts chlorine on top of oxygen generators. Maybe they needed that 'misc' category after all!

[@gardgardner4912]

I've seen worse....

[@MrKeserian]

Hold up. I'm only on minute three here. Did they really stack chlorine on top of chemical oxygen generators?! Ya know, the type that generate incredible amounts of heat?! Edit: Oh great. Yep. Aviation chemical oxygen generators. We'd already known how dangerous those things can be from at least one aircraft crash.

[@NiceMuslimLady]

@@MrKeserian Don't worry. Nothing could POSSIBLY go wrong with that!!!

[@REXXSEVEN]

@@NiceMuslimLady lol

[@fetchstixRHD]

[FCClan]The Stranger: Of course, definitely nothing **cough** 8:35 **cough** wrong with that at all!

[@cpt_nordbart]

I like these cliche shots of people being busy... Like walking with urgency through corridors. And families playing together. These are absolutely pointless and it's brilliant.

[@gardgardner4912]

Was there no smoke detector at ceiling to the waste-chemical store that caught fire? Why did it take a casual motorist to inform the Apex emergency desk of a pseudo-poisonous haze, when an ordinary fire-alarm would have sufficed towards initiating a genuine fire-alert?

[@tomwebb3081]

Because the law doesn't require one, so the company didn't bother to spend the money to install one.

[@dieseldave71]

Why spend unnecessary money on fire detection equipment when you can rely upon casual passers by to call 911?

[@NiceMuslimLady]

There wouldn't have been anyone there to hear them! It's not like the plant was actually ATTENDED 24 hours a day!

[@REXXSEVEN]

@@NiceMuslimLady I agree. And even if there had been a remote signaling system to let people know what's going on, timing is everything. This is obviously the type of combination of events that can get really bad really quick. It would have been best for them to have built-in extinguishing systems and to have those chemicals stored in separate structures depending on what the chemical was. Common sense just be damned. Even I know that, and I know nothing about the hazardous waste disposal industry.

[@erikvoorhies5397]

It's so nice to see more government bodies than just the post office being decent and reasonable for a change!

[@MarcosElMalo2]

Keep in mind we’re on the public information end here. I imagine it’s a lot less pleasant to be on the pointy end of an investigation.

[@CheshireCad]

Well, this comment didn't age well. It makes me wonder how many other government agencies were decent and reasonable, before being deliberately strangled into obsolescence by conservatives.

[@LeafseasonMagbag]

@@CheshireCad this is also happening to the USCSB, which has been fighting for its own budget for many years

[@whynotjustmyusername]

That, my friends, is why emergency command centers, such as the 911 response center, should always be planned to resist natural and manmade disasters. They should basically be bunkers: air filtration, emergency power, storm resistant, hell even resistant to terroritst attacks!

[@shadetreader]

Indeed, the real terrorism is what corporations are doing to us.

[@TheJudeJane]

You can’t hide from industrial waste. They are PFAS. Forever chemicals and KZbin has videos about the dangers.

[@BarneySaysHi]

Kind of odd that a company like that didn't have any smoke detection and warning system. Given the fact that hazardous materials were stored that close to a community, I'd say that's a damn shame.

[@yakacm]

To quote Grand Master Flash, It's all about money, ain't a damn thing funny.

[@NiceMuslimLady]

What good would they have done? There wouldn't have been anyone there to hear them!!!

[@TheMattc999]

diecast jam you gotta have a con in this land of milk and honey.....

[@SurlyHannah]

Moved away from NC a couple years ago, been a while since I've heard someone pronounce ambulance "ammalans"

[@CodeAsm]

here we say: AmBOElAnse (strong A and OE sounds for your english). now you speac dutch :P

[@av8r500]

Hannah Joy or amberlance.....

[@oron61]

Where I come from it's an amm-y'lince.

[@Vanilla0729]

Wham-ba-lance!

[@sootikins]

Amber lamps

[@Elite7555]

You are kidding... They didn't even have fire- / smoke detectors?

[@myleswillis]

Fire started in the middle of the night, with no personal on site. I wonder how much insurance they collected.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

Probably not a penny, although the insurance company no doubt made hefty payments to the townsfolk. In a case like this, investigated by the CS-ever-lovin-B, negligent practices that disqualify claims are quickly discovered. It doesn’t matter if it was technically legal, the insurance company can bring in their expert witnesses if the company takes them to court. Now, in a case investigated locally, ymmv.

[@Josh-fv9ml]

Plan B to evacuate should include your dogs and cats to leave safely with you! Always think not if but when a need might arise

[@Dinos_and_Teacups]

Yeah I mean a quick one hour lecture in chemistry and you would know what chemicals you should or should not store together. It's not that difficult folks.

[@jordanrodrigues8265]

One problem - arguably the root problem but there were so many problems - is classifying COGs as "oxidizer" instead of a variety of "explosive." They have a lot more in common with solid rocket motors (both produce hot, pressurized gas when ignited) than with simple oxidizers like chlorine or sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate (which won't support a fire without added fuel - they're still dangerous but separating them from flammables helps a lot). I believe that's still how they're regulated. I'm sure the low-level employees had more than one hour of training, but probably not enough to recognize that the regulations weren't enough to prevent a disaster.

[@mattlogue1300]

Cl an o are similar enough, heck O is more electronegative

[@alexphillips4325]

@@jordanrodrigues8265 Yeah, these are essentially a model rocket engine made to burn really slow but the exhaust product is oxygen instead of obscenely hot metal powder

[@Moose6340]

Oxygen generators. The same thing that brought down Valujet 592 in Florida.

[@NiceMuslimLady]

Yes. Oxygen generators under chlorine. Well, nothing bad will EVER come out of THAT...will it?

[@REXXSEVEN]

@@NiceMuslimLady I didn't know what can happen if anything at all when those two chemicals come in contact with each other. But as soon as they said the names of both sitting on top of each other, I said that doesn't sound good!

[@REXXSEVEN]

@@NiceMuslimLady kind of figured that anything that begins with Chlor plus anything that begins with oxy might not be a good combination.

[@Syclone0044]

Perhaps you didn’t notice the video specifically mentions the ValuJet 592 incident - they said the NTSB test-cell footage of burning the aircraft oxygen canisters was from the NTSB ValuJet investigation.

[@Tindometari]

Inspect any shipment of oxygen generators; if they're unspent, either reject the shipment or immediately or take them directly to an isolated concrete pit and expend them safely. Either way, then inform the shipper in writing that oxygen generators *must* be expended before shipping. If it comes to an accident and lawsuit, your lawyers will be very happy to produce such letters in court.

[@oldgysgt]

These clowns stacked chlorine on top of oxygen generators, WTF? That's like playing Russian Roulette with an automatic. These fool didn't have a clue what they were doing. It must have been operated by Darrel and his other brother Darrel.

[@homefront3162]

oldgysgt Dildos

[@AexisRai]

"playing Russian Roulette with an automatic" is a good one

[@Aikisbest]

@@AexisRai I always say "with a Glock", but practically the same, indeed a good one.

[@NiceMuslimLady]

What could go wrong?

[@TheMattc999]

oldgysgt 🤣

[@belmum1689]

Lucky no one died, I feel horrible for making a mistake at work, but Imagine if your mistake flattened your work place & near by homes.

[@NiceMuslimLady]

A friend of mine who worked security at a chemical plant...you know...one of those places that has WEIRD CHEMICALS in it...told me that there is a law that says you can't leave the plant unattended!!! Now, I've been there...and there is nothing there that can blow up...but, still YOU CAN'T LEAVE THE PLANT UNATTENDED!!!!! That was years before THIS happened...So...HOW is this happening time after time after time at UNATTENDED chemical plants????? This wasn't the only time that an EQ facility blew up either!!!

[@tim3172]

@@NiceMuslimLady So... this wasn't a chemical plant nor was the other EQ facility...

[@NiceMuslimLady]

@@tim3172 Define "chemical plant". In California, EQ could not leave their facility unattended. Maybe that's just a California law. But, there are other places where they routinely left chemical plants unattended. To be honest...I cannot fathom why there isn't a federal law saying this!!! I mean, seriously...are we REALLY going to go the "out of sight, out of mind" route here? There was another video that USCSB made about a chemical plant that blew up because of two mistakes. The first was forgetting to turn a steam heater off.

[@Backyardmech1]

[FCClan]The Stranger I can see an active production plant not being left unattended, but what about a storage facility as this place seemed to be? Given I’ve worked at decommissioned facilities that still had 24 hour security. I’ve even seen warehouses that store hazardous waste for up to 90 days at a time just locked up and left at the end of the day.

[@NiceMuslimLady]

@@Backyardmech1 If there are dangerous goods being stored there...HELL NO!!!!!! Leaving any facility with that much dangerous goods just laying around unattended is ASKING for trouble!!! What if someone comes along a steals some? What if you...I don't know...HAVE A FIRE???????

[@t-yoonit]

I'm happy that the only hazardous waste handling facility is owned/operated by our fire chief. We all know of every hazard and there is a highly detailed pre plan for any of the various possible situations that could occur at the small facility. We also have a moderate ag chem facility in our area. We have highly detailed pre plans for events there as well and we also tour the facility at least once a year to familiarize and reevaluate as needed.

[@TheJudeJane]

Look up PFAS. They are not bio-degradable. They are what is known as FOREVER CHEMICALS. We are not safe! None of us are. They are in our water, air, in our geo-engineered foods, natural foods, plastic containers like water bottles and plastic frozen veggie bags; pizza boxes, clothing, water-proof coats and shoes, baseball fields, gardens, playgrounds, rivers, streams, lakes, bedding, cookware, the Teflon, DuPont products, paint we freshen our walls with, the detergents, the toothpastes, etc. They warn about cancer-causing cigarettes, but NEVER your community Halloween harvest ride. What old plant that burned in the 1820’s? Yes, that ONE!☠️💀🫁🤮

[@LazerWolf21]

I lived in Apex at the time. I was five years old and all I remember is being to get in car because there was a chemical fire. We went my cousin’s house and I saw some of it on the news. The details of this are scary, those oxygen generators are no joke and that Valujet crash they mentioned was really scary, the generators created a fire which melted a fireproof compartment.

[@amberkat8147]

Yeah, not sure if there is such a thing as fireproof when too much oxygen is in the air.

[@nickcollins1052]

@@amberkat8147 Yeah in normal circumstances the compartment is fireproof because it's completely sealed The fire would burn up any oxygen in the room and die out. But when you add in something that can literally create oxygen and heat you've basically just made a plane melter

[@jeffreysokal7264]

These CSB videos are some of the best I've ever seen. Excellent job providing essential information.

[@obfuscated3090]

It would be easy to design a simple,safe O2 generator discharge fixture and mandate time-changed unexpended generators be discharged individually at the aircraft maintenance facility before transport. They would then be inert and not require special handling.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

At one point in the video, they said it’s already a regulation that the cylinders be discharged prior to transport or storage. This implies that aircraft maintenance facility was derelict. I imagine there are court cases that arose from this “accident”, and it would be interesting to see if the aircraft maintenance facility was a codefendant.

[@thescottsman1996]

working at walmart, we have special guidelines for pool chemical fires, evacuate evacuate evacuate. normal fire extinguishers only make them worse

[@REXXSEVEN]

Yup.

[@jaysmith1408]

You don’t have chemical extinguishers in that department?

[@stavinaircaeruleum2275]

I don't know why. I enjoy watching these videos.

[@MrDavidr86]

The fire must have been really intense to jump a 6” curb.. Imagine how bad it could have been if there was no curb.

[@Aranimda]

I find it remarkable how the Environmental Quality Company failed so miserable to improve the quality of its environment. In hindsight, an other company name would be more appropriate.

[@NiceMuslimLady]

Environmental Quality...NOT Company!

[@tim3172]

@@NiceMuslimLady This is awkward but its full name is Environment Quality Company per the FCC filings. Step 1 of correcting someone: making sure they're wrong.

[@NiceMuslimLady]

@@tim3172 FCC filing? What does the Federal Communications Commission have to do with it?

[@RedfishCarolina]

I moved near there literally a month later (Nov 2006), just on the other side of Raleigh. Yet never once did I hear of this.

[@seanokeefe703]

Reed Hycalog on Navigation Blvd in Houston had a deluge system in the small building they stored industrial chemicals in. It was said by the site supervisor the deluge fire system was a step above sprinklers and would probably put most fires out or mitigate damage.

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

Cheif Haraway has a great speaking voice,

[@pvtimberfaller]

Saw a yard full of burning recycled cardboard & plastic bales today.

[@coreyschmidt1647]

Yeah, I see that once every month or so at the recycle facility across the street from where I work.

[@santospinedacastillo4725]

This is why regulations are so necessary. You cannot and should not depend on profit focused businesses to expend some of that profit on non-profit increasing needs such as safety. The minute it becomes optional... they will opt to go cheap. People love to harass/talk shit about overly regulated states, but that's why you see a much reduced number of incidents like this in thos states.

[@infonut]

Amen to that, Santos. Our biggest threat in a capitalized society if greed fueled by arrogance.

[@medea27]

I think the scariest thing is that it's as much about arrogance & laziness these days as it is about being cheap. The cognitive dissonance of saying "I don't need to be told how to run my business" but then arguing that you don't have the most basic & common sense fire equipment like sprinklers & back-to-base alarms because "I wasn't told that I needed more than a fire extinguisher, it wasn't a legal/regulatory _requirement_ to have equipment to protect my business" ....... really??! The worst is the ridiculous argument for 'self-regulation' - humans are pathologically incapable of self-regulation, just look at the number of _legal_ substances we try to convince ourselves we're not addicted to, like coffee or sugar. Even the most law-abiding & risk-adverse people need to be pointed in the right direction sometimes, and _none_ of us is omnipotent - we all have areas where we don't know what we don't know. The best argument _for_ more regulation is the very people who _don't want_ regulation - they tend to be very good at demonstrating why they should never be left to their own devices.

[@Tindometari]

Just to make sure I don't misunderstand: Was it very hazy? Did it smell like chlorine? But never mind firewalls. You put the oxidizers over *here*, and the fuels over *there*. Ideally, at opposite corners of the central storage lot, not in two bays within metres of each other.

[@OAleathaO]

4:55 - "...chemical oxygen generators." Which, when activated, create an exothermic reaction. Which is what brought down ValueJet flight 592 in 1996. 1996!! And this happens 10 years later. Seriously? Why, after all this time is there still not a law requiring expired oxygen canisters be rendered inert before disposal?? Or at the very least require special disposal procedures.

[@ExaltedDuck]

probably because they don't want to start a fire... I've dealt with a lot of aerospace companies. They use standardized quality management systems (typically at least AS9100 certified) which, when well-run, lead to good risk management planning and responsible, ethical, and accountable behavior and decision-making. But when poorly-run, they are all about just collecting whatever documentation is needed to pass audits, and to try to document things to defer accountability rather than demonstrate it. Well-run companies would minimize risk by passivating the generators. Poorly-run companies would minimize risk by offloading them to (typically lowest bidding) waste handler.

[@LerRhann]

If you would have paid attention to the video you would know that there was a law that oxygen generators must be discharged before shipping. For some reason it wasn't followed here.

[@119beaker]

Quinn Meche No it was just a CSB recommendation.

[@OAleathaO]

+Bunsen Honeydew --> Thank you for pointing that out. And previous to that in the final NTSB report regarding the ValueJet 592 accident in 1996 it was also just a recommendation. The CSB & the NTSB are great agencies but their problem is that they do not have the authority to mandate any recommendations they make. They are strictly investigatory & safety review agencies which simply submit their final reports to a higher government department.

[@LerRhann]

Bunsen Honeydew it clearly said that it was a law at the time.

[@SuperAgentman007]

4:43 any artillery ammo or old nuclear bombs

[@NiceMuslimLady]

Yes. The old nuclear bomb is stored on top of the oxygen generators.

[@ellomynameisjohnny]

god, I love videos like this. because I'm like "Whoah I know that dude, we knock back a couple brews every tuesday"

[@TDPEquinox]

4:06 I was ill-prepared for this image.

[@Jimboblay74]

An interesting case. That was a busy year!

[@honestgashandmade5831]

7:35 the evacuation ended after two days: Resident pulling up in a nice RV: We are glad to be home

[@c31979839]

No kidding eh? Their RV is probabaly nicer than most people's entire house.

[@aequinoctiale]

As soon as oxygen generators were mentioned I knew that the valujet incident would be mentioned somewhere here!

[@GODDAMNLETMEJOIN]

We had a pool chlorine fire at my job a few years ago. Thanks to having adequate sprinklers our workplace is still standing!

[@huascension117]

Love these videos but can’t stop thinking of captain hindsight

[@nandinirm2234]

I like the narration

[@mattyi91]

I was young when this happened, I lived in that neighborhood. The poison gas killed our birds.

[@NiceMuslimLady]

My condolences. :(

[@chesthoIe]

I am very sorry to hear about your birds. That must have been rough for you when you were young. Did you receive an apology from the company, or any monetary relief?

[@lokl844]

What's surprising to me is how did they not identify the threat of a self-oxidizing fire

[@irelandgoddess2636]

Thank God no one was hurt or killed thank God for that

[@tim3172]

PRAISE GOD!!! Sure, quite literally every other video on this channel as several to hundreds of innocent deaths. But PRAISE GOD that he randomly? selected? this one to not have any, I guess?

[@tyronesargent1757]

with all you guys do, you would think companies would operate safer than what i have seen in yall videos. i guess these companies just want to skip all the paperwork and planning

[@Keaton0801]

Smelled of chlorine, and was a yellow haze, sounds like mustard gas to me.

[@kelvinyonger8885]

Chlorine is also somewhat yellow.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

And that’s when Jerry came over the top, with fixed bayonets. Also Taylor and William. They were all bayonet repairmen.

[@chesthoIe]

Yeah man, it was probably a heavily regulated weapon of mass destruction that doesn't really have any other uses, as opposed to a chemical that EVERYONE who owns a pool uses. It's not like humans have noses and know what pools smell like as opposed to what sandwiches smell like.

[@kindadenche]

Horrible!!! However the rule of the thumb is community right to know, proper waste management/storage strategies as well as proper documentation and management of records. Thorough fire risk assessment of storage facilities and the consideration of suitable and appropriate fire prevetion equipment in place. Even the design the construction of storage facility is of prime importance and shall be complied with as per NFPA applicable standards.

[@pvtimberfaller]

The same stuff is in your house & garage, You would throw a fit if you had to (and should) report everything you had stored.

[@7curiogeo]

So guessing that in an sprawl, by developers homes were built around a possibul chemical hazard. Or the company built on the edge of residential area. Both were a disaster waiting to happen.

[@phillipkalaveras1725]

This was not stupidity, this was intentional and I can't stand to watch one more second of it.

[@JohnSmith-wt7rb]

We have homes that don't have stacks of dangerous flammables, and are mandated to have smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. EQ had a couple portable fire extinguishers. Somebody had to think, 'We need a sprinkler system here'. Nah....let 'em evacuate.

[@allanwright5231]

Are you supposed to have material safety data sheets for chemicals. And stored chemicals separately from chlorine . Also fire safety drills done by the company.

[@mattlogue1300]

Ok. Fire started in ox area, but they didn't hazard a guess what started the fire.

[@wozawayne]

Habe so etwas noch nie gesehen! Was im Video angesprochen wurde: fehlende Brandschutzeinrichtungen. Ich habe um 1993 in Köln - Porz in einer Fabrik gearbeitet, die aus Kunstharz und GFK - Bahnen Material für gedruckte Schaltungen produzierte. Als Lösungsmittel verwendete man Aceton. Alle Maschinen in der Lackierabteilung verfügten daher über eine Kohlensäure (oder CO2 - ) Löschanlage...macht durchaus Sinn..

[@1ytcommenter]

Dies zeigt wieder einmal mehr, wie unterentwickelt und rückständig diese, dem eigenen Verlauten nach, "Führungsnation" doch ist.

[@Galfrid]

So... basically a mom and pop hazardous waste disposal site? Really basic and no fire suppression devices.

[@calvinjenkins6900]

The first video narrated by Sheldon Smith!

[@cr-qo3ov]

That's ridiculous to have a hazardous waste facility in your town and have no material data sheets on what is being stored there and this being stored in an open-air building with no security that is truly Reckless

[@stnank]

Where should we store the flammable toxic waste? Ahh, right here between the posion gas tanks and the machines that spit out pure oxygen. Perfect.

[@ostapbendervan7874]

Love this new style of continuous auto play video of channel

[@hanwentian8096]

Mark this video: the first one Sheldon Smith narrated!

[@c31979839]

7:19 "...in the back of an amulance..." LOL! Amulance.

[@hadleymanmusic]

No it leaves it in the authority having jurisdiction.

[@thomasnelson5010]

I can’t imagine what I would do to the Plant Manager, if he told me he couldn’t tell me exactly what was in there, while my friends and family were at risk.

[@Kiwi_Bird438]

I was a kid when this happened. I was in the pool a few miles away from the blast, and the lifeguards thought it was thunder.

[@mineown1861]

If the company relies on local emergency services to respond to an incident at their facility , surely it should be encumbent upon them to provide details of the hazards to which the fire services will face at the site . For example, there's no use turning up with only water , if foam is required to deal with a fire. Moreover local officials should be appraised , in order to make decisions about evacuations for instance, in a timely manner . Again , no sense advising people to temain in doors when they should flee .

[@OneVerySadPanda]

No chemical diamonds on display?

[@anthonydivon5571]

As soon as the word Hazardous is used automatically red flag

[@scair7331]

ya fire suppression in something that water could spread or make worse. foam a could make worse or foam b could make it worse or just spread it .

[@chris5942]

It just boggles my mind that companies need a regulation to do the right thing.

[@1495978707]

Because a businesses purpose is to make money by filling a need. You don’t make more money by being safe except possibly in the long term. You have to understand that if it’s not like a one or two person business that it’s not like a person, it’s an entity of its own

[@homefront3162]

That combover

[@RHS-992]

I wish you do a clip for Tianjin port explosion 5 years ago. Would be awesome😎

[@chesthoIe]

Dude, you know this is an actual United States government agency? They don't take requests, nor do they have any regulatory authority over China.

[@KaaneDragonShinobi]

Unfortunately I think these guys only deal with incidents that happen in American territory. It's an American government body.

[@TheTruthSeeker756]

Well chief i don’t know “exactly” what we have, but I DO know it’s a whole lot of dangerous shit

[@coreyandnathanielchartier3749]

Simple fact is, these types of businesses shouldn't be located anywhere near inhabited areas. Period! A sad example of "pay the right officials, and do anything you want".

[@thomasbreig2292]

Didnt know Dwight Schrute worked for the CSB

[@brianblessing8369]

didn't know admiral/captain kirk is the narrator of this v ikdeo

[@escalatorman0902]

I ilve there to it was scary and awesome

[@iHATEbigots666]

hold companies responsible for their negligence.

[@toryknotts8026]

Ideally these are stored in a detacated concrete bunkers

[@Johnny53kgb-nsa]

As a retired union industrial painter the one job I disliked the most being sent to was chemical companies.

[@amberblyledge7859]

Call me completely off topic, but what is John Bresland's accent?

[@rayarsenault1958]

He's originally from Ireland.

[@amberblyledge7859]

Ray Arsenault Ah, thank you. It makes sense.

[@homefront3162]

Amber Blyledge Gay

[@averagegeek3957]

+Homefront Why are you posting homophobic comments?

[@oron61]

Huzardus wöst disposal?

[@Elite7555]

I don't understand this: These facilities need licences to run their operations, but the responding authorities don't know what they're dealing with? Isn't that bad communication?

[@Luckingsworth]

That's because of all publicly funded programs, the fire dept is the one that even the dems choose to cut funding towards. Most fire stations are 1 paid chief and the rest volunteer. Nobody is properly trained.

[@4nciite]

@@Luckingsworth *Especially the Dems*

[@priestofsyrinx6681]

It amazes me that these companies do not care enough to provide a list of potential hazardous compounds/wastes that they may have. How the hell does the plant manager know what he's storing? Always have a log on-hand listing all currently stored chemicals and wastes. Oh, and let's just put oxidizers on top of various other chemical compounds in a hazardous waste shed.

[@EduardRitok]

11:51 that girl is probably in the middle of her 20's , married and living somewhere else now 😅😅damn, the time runs fast. i feel old😬

[@juicebox22a]

Whats the cancer rate in that town now ?

[@robertwilliams3527]

3rd boom, dad threw his cape on, took off like a rocket to save the day.

[@I_SuperHiro_I]

Where should we store these various hazardous chemicals that all violently react with each other? In the same building……no, stacked on each other. Good idea.

[@hadleymanmusic]

All these videos, you locate things at potential hazard in all these designs ill not elaborate here either.

[@ShannonSmith4u2]

Some of these speakers should stick with analyzing data, not giving the report. Some seemed angry at us for watching, sheesh.

[@ripedecomp]

..apex Colorado??? apex what???

[@bothewolf3466]

Investigator Robert Hall's dead stare and monotone speach... wow.

[@blazerocker1734]

He couldn't look more like he was reading from a teleprompter if he tried.

[@prismstudios001]

Aunt BEa`s gonna be pissed…

[@chrisromero5302]

Why would you store chlorine with an oxidizer. You dont have to be that smart to know that you dont do that.

[@themotofixery]

That guy is a robot!

[@ppser818]

Well, I guess they got Rid of the waste - it's burnt to a crisp.

[@hexagonmagnetics569]

New York don't have these problems, we have rules for everything!