Posted on 05/19/2023 9:21:08 AM PDT by Red Badger
Authorities have revealed the cause of the Texas dairy farm explosion that killed nearly 20,000 in April this year.
The massive explosion at the South Fork Dairy in Dimmitt, Texas, killed thousands of cattle and injured one person.
The smoke from the explosion was so large it could be seen by witnesses 80 miles away.
According to investigators, an engine fire in the manure hauler caused the explosion.
However, it is unclear what caused the engine fire, but authorities claim there was “no intentional act to cause a failure.”
AP reported:
A fire and explosion at a dairy farm in the Texas Panhandle that injured one person and killed an estimated 18,000 head of cattle was an accident that started with an engine fire in a manure vacuum truck cleaning part of the massive barn, according to state investigators.
A State Fire Marshal report of the April 10 fire at the Southfork Dairy Farm about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Amarillo did not determine what caused the engine fire but found there was “no intentional act to cause a failure.” The April 24 report said the investigation was closed.
The explosion adds to a long list of mysterious farm fires.
The Poultry Site reported more than 518,000 farm animals perished in barn fires in 2022, according to an Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) analysis.
As The Daily Fetched reported last year, dozens of food processing plants were destroyed by ‘accidental fires,’ the first major one was reported in 2023 as a commercial egg farm in Bozrah, Connecticut.
The fires come amid a string of suspicious fires at food plants which became almost an epidemic in 2022.
According to Bloomberg data, “food plant fire” reports jumped the most in a decade last year.
I’d love to know how they milk that many cows. Multiple rotaries? Robotic milk ers? Combination of both? And I bet they are making 3x/day.
Someone thought lighting cow farts would solve global warming.
What gives? We all know that it’s Trump’s Fault. *SMIRK*
“ Methane. Lots of methane.”
Seems like a system failure that so much methane was able to build up.
Didn’t they vent it?
Doing this from my phone, so please bear with me...
1) the pits are underground. If properly ventilated, no problem. If the fans were underperforming....
2) most feeding and milking operations are automatic, with the livestock coming in to get cleaned, fed and milked when they feel like it.
3) it has on smaller operations.
4) hired hands are mostly older kids and young adults.
5) who do you think investigated and wrote the report.
I know bad things are going on right now, but sometimes a horrible accident is just that.
Farming is inherently dangerous work.
People die and property and equipment is destroyed every year.
I smell a rat...either a government rat or global warming rat or maybe a combo.
LOL!
“Methane is an explosion hazard in enclosed areas. Liquefied Methane floats on water and boils. The vapor cloud produced is FLAMMABLE.”
“The main hazard is its flammable, explosive nature. Methane is extremely difficult to detect without gas detection instruments because it is odorless, but it should be anticipated as being present in all manure storage areas. Some systems for storing the manure are more dangerous than others.”
https://nasdonline.org/48/d001616/manure-gas-dangers.html
Your Turn
Well, read the last sentence.
What’s flammable?
The vapor cloud is flammable.
Liquefied methane, ie LNG turns from liquid to gad (vapor) at more then -200° F.
There was no liquid methane just hanging around a cattle barn.
So you have tank with liquid manure in it. The truck catches fire. Heat builds up. The plastic tank starts to burn. I would say that a vapor cloud would form even if it did not already exist.
What you speak of there is akin to a BLEVE. BUT that would only be the case if the tank stored methane. The tank in a stockyard would be designed to vent gas, not build up high pressure.
Full disclosure, years ago I was a Georgia certified firefighter. Trust me on this. Not trying to bust you, just know that what you wrote there is unlikely. Truly.
How about this. There was a big Boom! Documented.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.