Posted on 08/14/2015 8:56:09 AM PDT by wtd
China on Friday defended fire fighters who initially hosed water on a blaze in a warehouse storing volatile chemicals, a response foreign experts said could have contributed to two huge blasts that killed 56 people.
At least 21 fire fighters were among the victims of the explosions at the port in the northeastern city of Tianjin on Wednesday night, the official Xinhua news agency said, calling it possibly the highest death toll among fire crews since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
About 720 people were injured, 25 critically with 33 in serious condition, in a nation all too familiar with industrial disasters.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
There was a bit of good news...
Yet, on the other hand, I caught a brief glance at Fox & Friends report on Tianjin aftermath and was stunned to see locals pushing brooms to sweep the thick layer of ash/debris - kicking up whatever poisons remain. Some wore kerchiefs to cover their nose/mouth, but not all.
That was the ‘funniest’ headline I saw about the disaster. Issued literally hours after the blast when secondary explosions were still going off.
Amazing - they’re all naked. like Hiroshima, their clothes (and skin) have been burned right off. Shows it was not only force of explosion, but heat and fire that are most deadly.
We routinely deny terrorism before the fires are out. How is this different?
"That was the funniest headline I saw about the disaster."> - Black Agnes
ME 'journalists' have a peculiar take on most news.
Automakers scramble to assess damage from huge blasts at shipping hub
BEIJING/TOKYO (Reuters) -- Toyota Motor Corp. said on Friday more than 50 of its employees were injured by Wednesday night's explosions in the Chinese port of Tianjin that killed 56 people.
"We have now heard that over 50 employees who live in the surrounding area, including in company accommodation, have been injured," Toyota said in a written statement.
Toyota said it was not aware of any employee deaths.
The explosions resulted in broken windows at two dealerships, one operated by FAW Toyota Motor Sales Co., Ltd., and one operated by GAC Toyota Motor Co., Ltd, Toyota said, adding that both dealerships were now temporarily closed.
The company said it was still verifying details of the exact number of employees injured and the extent of their injuries.
Global automakers including Volkswagen AG and Hyundai scrambled today to assess damage to cars and facilities after two massive explosions rocked China's largest auto import hub.
The blasts that ripped through a warehouse storing volatile chemicals in the northeastern city late on Wednesday were so strong that they damaged buildings at least a mile away." ...
In all fairness, is there any city in the world that could cope effectively with something like this?
Pray for the people in that area, this kind of disaster could happen in many places....
However, questions are fair and necessary if similar circumstances are to be appropriately and immediately addressed so as to avoid any repeats in the future.
I, for one, hope that we do not share similar vulnerabilities here in the US - but with the environmental catastrophe created by the EPA at the Gold King mine this week, it's unfortunate to suggest, but there's plenty of room for doubt.
Well, the US MSM does insist that the disaster could have been caused by “right wing Tea Party extremists” before there is any evidence.
In my own home, I have different types of fire extinguishers for different areas. I learned the hard way, as a newlywed - not to put out a grease fire on the stove by splashing water on it. In that case, a slick of oil spread on top of the counter and the flames spread till it burned out. Fortunately, my spouse came to the rescue with the lid to the pan and the emergency was immediately resolved. Nothing was scorched besides my ego. But it was a lesson well learned.
This particular incident occurred in one of the largest and most modern ports in the world. Again, questioning the emergency response is well within reason, and hopefully provides the impetus to avoid the possibility of this ever occurring under similar circumstances.
I follow Napoleon’s dictum of “Never ascribe to malice that which can be satisfactorily explained by incompetence”
Not saying the Chinese didn’t screw up in their response, only that I really doubt nearly any city in the world would have done much better. My pity and prayers are with the poor working stiffs and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the emergency response people risked or lost their lives trying to save their fellow humans.
In short, should some such thing happen in LA or Houston I think we’d appreciate prayers, too..
Published on Aug 14, 2015 At 22:50 on August 12, Tianjin Binhai. The first fire started at the PSA Ruihai logistics of hazardous chemicals. After the explosion fireball erupted while secondary explosions triggered surrounding enterprises. All the glass of the buildings have broken within two kilometers , and felt strongly within ten kilometers.Seven or eight fire trucks were destroyed on the ground, on the nearest place from the explosion area
About 100 meters far from the explosion point traffic police detachment
Less than 400 meters distance south of the scene of the explosion, four or five football field-sized parking lot about, thousands of parked cars new cars were burned.
About 600 meters away from the west side of the explosion, the light rail line on the 9th East Road Station, part of the rail damage. Many nearby administrative office buildings, commercial buildings, office buildings and other Standard Chartered Bank is a glass staircase damaged. The same is the 9th line, from the explosion point approximately 1.7 kilometers southwest of the Convention Center station, about 4.4 km Citizen Plaza Station also damaged.
Near the site of the incident on the west side of the highway for some seaside equally affected, pavement at the fracture, dent, and rubble and broken glass everywhere. Residential building damage is quite serious.
About 600 meters south of the explosion site Vanke Harbour Building 1,2. Elevator, gas and water supply have been cut off.
About 800 meters south of the site of the explosion has located the sail Garden District.
In addition, the neighborhood that is damaged within two kilometers. Hopson Jun Bay, Tianbin apartment, Golden Mile Island, Investor apartments, Wantong Metro International, regal apartments. About three kilometers southwest of the site Customs House, all the doors and windows smash, severely deformed walls, ceilings falling. The shock wave shattered glass line the walls.
About 3 km from the explosion site TEDA hospital, a dozen of glass was shattered ward building block airflow, collapse.
About 3 km from the explosion site TEDA College of Nankai University, some glass doors and windows damaged in the school.
I’d wondered the same thing. Firefighters are trained in this and know what to use for different types of fires.
Something catastrophic clearly happened- the firefighters were on site for 20 minutes before the explosions began, fighting a fire.
I hope real lessons are learned and shared- though I’m not optimistic.
Chinese or American, I salute the testicular matter of guys who go ^into^ the flames.
God yes, me too.
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