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Must see video: Close-up view of Coachella, California LPG explosion at McDonalds drive-thru.

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Read more details about the fire and explosion at Firegeezer.com

On Monday, my friend Firegeezer Bill Schumm was among the first in the fire service media world to tell us about a dangerous incident last Saturday at a drive-thru at a McDonalds in Coachella, California. It involved a pick-up truck with a couple of LPG tanks in the bed that vented during a 100-degree day and caught fire. A short time later the smaller of those tanks exploded, rocketing the larger one 75-feet away. Bill has a complete description and a video of the blast he found on YouTube.

But the video above has a much closer and more direct view of the blast and it shows the actions of law enforcement and/or private security before firefighters arrive on the scene.

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10 Comments

  1. WFDT says

    Funny how a BLEVE will clear a scene of looky-lous.

    on April 26, 2012 @ 7:01 am. Reply
  2. CHAOS says

    Bet there’s a cop and security guard who have a new appreciation for a pressure vessel venting under fire conditions and what it can mean to the condition of your underwear.

    This ought to spark a bit of discussion, but that seemed to be a CCF (catastrophic container failure), an event where the fire impingement on the steel causes the vessel to fail – from the outside, instead of a BLEVE, where the container fails due to internal pressure increasing to the point where it exceeds the strength of the vessel. The frequent venting shows that the pressure relief valve is working to keep the internal pressure under that vessel maximum pressure. The PSV resetting shows that the pressure is being reduced as it vents. Since the onset of decent quality, higher flow PSVs, there has been a decrease in the number of actual BLEVEs. Of course, a CCF will still ruin your day.

    on April 26, 2012 @ 8:59 am. Reply
    • Sharppointy1 says

      CHAOS, you’re teaching me new things…I hadn’t heard of CCF; off to learn more. Thanks!

      on April 26, 2012 @ 11:29 am. Reply
  3. Sharppointy1 says

    Haven’t those people ever heard of a BLEVE? I would have been zooming away as fast as my Jeep would take me!

    on April 26, 2012 @ 9:54 am. Reply
  4. SB says

    I like the idiots driving through there especially the one right as it blows. Also, the security guard and cops for not keeping traffic out of there. The one guy was too busy on his phone.

    Would like to see video of the attack. Dave, see if you can locate some.

    on April 26, 2012 @ 10:53 am. Reply
  5. Shh.... says

    This video can prove the case for a need to provide other public safety officers (police/EMS/public works) with awareness training in fire and hazardous materials. It’s just to bad you cant provide the citizens with common sense to avoid the area like this.

    on April 26, 2012 @ 11:19 am. Reply
  6. Agates1272 says

    Ba-da-ba-ba-ba I’m lovin’ it!

    No? Too soon?

    on April 26, 2012 @ 11:49 am. Reply
  7. mark says

    No comments about the alleged safety of CNG powered vehicles?

    Pressurized containers, flammable gas or liquid in this case, could very well be the same result.

    Glad no one was close when it went. Hope no one was in the drive-thru window asking if they wanted fries with that.

    on April 26, 2012 @ 12:13 pm. Reply
  8. Anonymous says

    Would you like fries with that explosion?

    on April 26, 2012 @ 4:36 pm. Reply
  9. SB says

    It got supersized!

    on April 26, 2012 @ 4:50 pm. Reply

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