Industrial Fire World publisher David White was among six new members of the National Fire Heritage Center’s Hall of Legends, Legacies and Leaders to be inducted during April ceremonies at FDIC International 2019 in Indianapolis, IN. The NFHCF includes the National Fire Heritage Archives, the National Fire Museum System, and the National Fire Heritage Foundation. Established in 2010, the HLLL includes prominent fire service leaders who have made significant contributions to fire protection who have been a member of the fire service or fire protection disciplines for at least 25 years and who are known/recognized in the national/international fire service arena. This year’s inductees include: David White is widely respected for his influence on municipal and industrial fire protection education, training, and standards and for bringing industrial fire and emergency response into the forefront with the municipal and volunteer fire service. He has impacted the knowledge and leadership development of thousands of...

WJON ST. CLOUD, MN -- A St. Cloud man has pleaded guilty to starting fires which caused more than $2.6-million in damage at the Martin Marietta granite quarry in Waite Park. TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE.

Houston Chronicle After three chemical fires ignited in a three-week period in the Houston area — spewing plumes of noxious black smoke into the air for days, shutting down schools and sending entire cities indoors to shelter in place — lawmakers say it’s too soon to know whether new laws are needed to improve prevention or emergency response . TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE

FiercePharma An explosion at a chemical plant in China that killed 62 people not only exposed weaknesses in China’s safety oversight, it exposed weaknesses in the global ingredient supply chain. The disruption from the blast has exacerbated shortages for Swiss pharma and chemical supplier Lonza. TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board said Wednesday it will be investigating the KMCO chemical plant fire in Crosby, which killed one person and left two others injured. TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE

By ANTON RIECHER/IFW EDITOR Rumors regarding the retirement of Dwight Williams, one of the leading figures in large-volume flammable liquid storage firefighting, have been greatly exaggerated if the March 20 th extinguishment of the massive Intercontinental Terminals Co. fire in Deer Park, TX is any indication. “Well, I guess I lied,” Williams said. Williams, who stepped down as head of Williams Fire and Hazard Control in September 2011, took a major role in the joint effort to put out the stubborn 64-hour blaze that spread through petrochemical products in and around 15 storage tanks and unleashed black smoke visible in satellite photographs stretching as far west as Austin. US FIRE PUMP ESTABLISHES ITSELF AS MAJOR INDUSTRIAL RESPONDER - CHECK OUT THE SPRING ISSUE OF IFW MAGAZINE He ranked the Deer Park emergency as among the worst in a career that includes the M/V Jupiter tanker fire in 1990 in Michigan, the...

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards praised Louisiana-owned US Fire Pump for their efforts to help contain and extinguish a petrochemical plant fire that had been roaring for nearly two days in Deer Park, Texas. TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE ................................................. LA PORTE, Texas; Thursday, March 22, 2019 – (UPDATE) – Tanks in the west side of the containment area have re-ignited. ................ The U.S. Chemical Safety Board will investigate the recent fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) site in Deer Park, TX. CSB investigators will start interviews next week and plan to be on site for several days to document the scene and collect evidence. The massive fire, which began on March 17 th,  engulfed 11 above ground storage tanks containing a variety of hydrocarbons, resulting in multiple orders for community members to Shelter in Place.  ------------------------------------ LA PORTE, Texas; Thursday, March 21, 2019...

Yancheng, China - The death toll from a chemical plant that exploded in eastern China rose to 78 as rescuers continue to discover bodies among the rubble. TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE

UPDATE - March 26 Unified Command continues clean-up operations at the Intercontinental Terminals Company LLC (ITC) facility, Tucker Bayou and Houston Ship Channel near Deer Park, Texas. Since March 19, 2019, more than 1,100 federal, state and local first responders, agencies, and environmental cleanup contractors have been on the scene and actively assessing, booming and continuing to remove product from affected areas. We continue to pump liquid out of tank 80-7 and have less than 6 inches (approximately 1,122 barrels or 47,127 gallons) remaining in the tank. The remaining liquid is mostly water. ITC operational personnel are currently transferring product from 80-14 and will continue transferring product from tank 80-10 to tank 80-18 until tanks 80-14 and 80-10 are empty. Tank 80-15 is empty. We are still pumping product from the ditch using vacuum trucks and hoses. That product is being transferred to tank 100-28. We are still foaming the tank...

WASHINGTON  –  The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), in coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), today issued a final rule that requires railroads to develop and submit Comprehensive Oil Spill Response Plans for route segments traveled by High Hazard Flammable Trains (HHFTs).  The rule applies to HHFTs that are transporting petroleum oil in a block of 20 or more loaded tank cars and trains that have a total of 35 loaded petroleum oil tank cars.  “This new rule will make the transport of energy products by railroad safer,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao. The rule revises the oil spill response plan requirements currently in place to require railroads to establish geographic response zones along various rail routes and ensure that both personnel and equipment are staged and prepared to respond in the event of an accident.  Furthermore, railroads are required to...

The Trump administration’s budget proposal will again call for eliminating the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, an independent federal agency that investigates major industrial accidents, according to Bloomberg News. TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE

A Borivli financier and three ithers with criminal records were arrested for allegedly setting ablaze a chemical factory in Kashimira, India, in February. TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE

Two companies were indicted Wednesday on federal charges after a mistake at a northeast Kansas distilling plant in 2016 released a noxious cloud of fumes that prosecutors say caused more than 140 people to seek medical treatment. TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE TO READ THE CSB PRELIMINARY REPORT, CLICK HERE

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a settlement with ExxonMobil Oil Corporation (ExxonMobil) today to resolve federal Clean Air Act claims arising from a 2013 fire at the company’s oil refinery in Beaumont, Texas that killed two employees and injured ten others.  In a complaint filed today with the settlement, the United States alleges that the company violated Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act, which requires measures to prevent accidental releases of extremely hazardous substances that can have serious public health and environmental consequences.  The April 17, 2013, fire at the refinery occurred when workers used a torch to remove bolts from the top, or “head,” of a device called a heat exchanger.  The torch ignited hydrocarbons released from the head.  EPA’s inspection following the incident disclosed violations of Section 112(r) and of the regulations known as the Chemical Accident Prevention provisions.  “The deaths...

PHOEBE TOLLEFSON/Billings (MT) Gazette Before a gas explosion consumed an Eastern Montana waste plant in 2012, the plant’s manager acknowledged the building was so poorly wired and ventilated that “we run the risk of killing someone.” TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE

Offering something a little different every year has been the guiding principle behind planning the International Rescue and Emergency Care Association conference. However, the 71st Annual Conference & Challenges being held June 17 through 21, 2019 in College Station, TX represents a more ambitious leap for IRECA. With Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service’s (TEEX) Brayton Fire Training Field and Disaster City® as its location, the conference is expanding the number of teams competing in its rescue challenges from six to 12, said past IRECA president and conference chairman Gary Leafblad.  “Doubling the number of teams in one year represents a big gamble for us,” Leafblad said. The last IRECA conference was conducted in Boise, ID using the Amalgamated Sugar refinery as the setting for the challenges involving seven-member technical rescue teams and four-member first response rescue teams. There was also a basic life support challenge open to three-member level teams. Moving...

By ANTON RIECHER/IFW Editor Beginning in the late 1960s Beaumont, TX played host to a summer training school attended by industrial firefighters across the state and, eventually, from around the world. Then, in 2004, that tradition was set aside by a new regime at the Beaumont fire school. David Owens with Industrial Rescue, operator of the recently reopened school, plans to resume the annual event beginning in May 2019. “It’s a big deal for us to get that going again,” Owens said. “It will give all the local emergency response companies around here the opportunity to train together again.” Scheduled for May 6 through 10, the summer school will offer training in interior and exterior firefighting, rescue, leadership and other topics important to emergency response teams. “I’ve talked to most of the players out there and they’re all excited about being a part of it,” Owens said. “Most of them started...

Dongguan, China - This is the terrifying moment a worker was engulfed in massive flames that suddenly burst out of some cotton yarn rolls on a truck in southern China. TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE.

Former President George H.W. Bush, 94, was laid to rest Dec. 6 at his presidential library in College Station, TX. His death was a tragedy for the nation and played havoc with the planned schedule for the winter Hellfighter U fire training at the nearby Brayton Fire Training Field. “We’re forced into scrambling the agenda and rearranging the curriculum in a sequence we’ve never utilized before,” Hellfighter U director Frank Bateman said. The changes also meant sacrificing a portion of the open discussion time to discuss such hot button issues as prioritizing performance and firefighter safety in the controversy concerning firefighting foam and the environment. “What I say is if you’re going to put your life on the line using firefighting foam, make sure it performs,” Bateman said. “I want to incorporate that into the criteria for foam testing.” PHOS-CHEK ™ , the company behind Hellfighter U, offers a full range...

Twenty years ago this week a chemical plant explosion in Pennsylvania killed five and injured six, becoming one of the first major investigations conducted by the newly established U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. The explosion occurred at Concept Sciences Inc., near Allentown, PA, on February 19, 1999. As a result of the explosion four Concept Sciences employees and the manager of an adjacent business were killed. Two Concept Sciences employees were injured, as were four people in nearby buildings. The explosion damaged ten buildings and several residences in the immediate area. The case study found that the explosion was most likely due to high concentration and temperature in a process vessel containing several hundred pounds of hydroxylamine, a potentially explosive chemical used in the manufacture of semiconductors. Concept Sciences' process safety management systems were insufficient to properly address the hazards inherent in its manufacturing process. The case study added...