Tanker Truck Explosion/Accident I-95 South of Baltimore

WJZ Channel 13, Baltimmore | 01/13/2004 | Orbiting_Rosie's_Head

[Centurion2000]

this is something for homeland security to watch

We are.

For the very reasons you mentioned.

Tell them to watch for a cropduster .... or 5 guys with rifles could have a field day along that highway now.

To be honest it looks like a perfect way to trap thousands in a contained area ... and fallout from Baltimore would hit DC .. (worst case scenario)

[JustPiper]

Check out the Ongoing Terror Thread

Nearing 10,000 posts and going strong

[all4one]

I have colleagues in the area who were on 95, four cars behind where the tanker bounced across the road (it happened so fast, they think the truck came from overpass or ramp onto 95)overturned and crashed into other vehicles. They stopped to assist but the flames and explosions were too hot and dangerous.

Anyone in the area should divert their course now. Radio reports indicate that the 4 lanes both North and South are entirely closed down, and may not open until tomorrow!

[69ConvertibleFirebird]

Highway is on fire, lots of wreckage from other trucks and cars.

Living in D.C. suburbs, having to commute through traffic Hell every day, I have to ask: Where is the news here? This is a regular, pretty much daily, occurrence, in the D.C/Baltimore area's gridlocked road system.

[JustPiper]

My concern is that if it is a distraction from something bigger?

[Old Sarge]

You are with Homeland Security in the Operation's Center and your posting to FreeRepublic?

HellYEAH I do. Where else can I get fast news, CNN?

This was in the Breaking News section. I started putting queries into the system, and the data starts up.

I gotta brief the Mergency Manager folks in a bit; I gotta make myself smart.

[Hatteras]

From WBAL website:

Fiery Crash Closes I-95
Larry Frum, Jr., Managing Editor

POSTED: 3:28 PM EST January 13, 2004
UPDATED: 3:59 PM EST January 13, 2004

A firey crash closed a major corridor between Baltimore and Washington Tuesday afternoon after a tanker went out of control and fell onto the interstate below.

Pictures from SkyTeam 11 showed an area along the Howard County - Baltimore County line of Interstate 95 North charred and the shells of vehicles along the roadway. A foam truck from Baltimore-Washington International Airport was called to the scene to help put down the fire.

Witnesses told TheWBALChannel.com that a tanker was traveling along the ramp of I-895 South and went off the bridge and down onto Interstate I-95. The tanker exploded immediately on impact with the roadway.

Flames spread up into the surrounding woods. Fire crews are trying to put those out as well.

Both lanes of I-95 are closed. Traffic is being diverted off the interstate at Route 100. The ramp for Interstate 895 goes over the accident scene and that is also shut down.

SkyTeam 11 was also able to show at least two cars that were damaged from fire and possibly a collision.

Copyright 2004 by TheWBALChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

[JustPiper]

Bump to you Sarge!

[John H K]

To be honest it looks like a perfect way to trap thousands in a contained area ... and fallout from Baltimore would hit DC .. (worst case scenario)
If I were a terrorist and had posession of an explosive tanker truck there are about 50 billion places in the DC/Baltimore area I'd rather blow it up than where it did.

Was actually over in Annapolis when it happened (didn't look for or notice the cloud) and just got back home, but heard about it on the radio in the car.

Actually sorta surprised at how few posts this thread has, but on the way back I was wondering how nutty people would be about hoping it was terrorism...I have to say that FR has greatly improved in this respect in the last 6-12 months; had this happened a year ago there would have been a half-dozen posters absolutely insisting it was a terror attack, and that anyone who didn't believe it was a terror attack was an AQ sympathizer (which never quite made any sense, but it did happen quite often.) Actually, I suspect most of those types (can't remember the screennames) have left FR.

[Donna Lee Nardo]

No we cannot ever blame terrorists and you know it! Nothing to see here, there or anywhere -- forever more -- so please move along...

[JustPiper]

Salute ;)

[Hatteras]

"I gotta brief the Mergency Manager folks in a bit; I gotta make myself smart."

Hee, hee... send along our greetings to Tom. Give him a big ol' HUG!

[John H K]

To be honest it looks like a perfect way to trap thousands in a contained area ... and fallout from Baltimore would hit DC .. (worst case scenario) If I were a terrorist and had posession of an explosive tanker truck there are about 50 billion places in the DC/Baltimore area I'd rather blow it up than where it did.

Arrgh, gotta remember to use preview more. Was actually over in Annapolis when it happened (didn't look for or notice the cloud) and just got back home, but heard about it on the radio in the car.

Actually sorta surprised at how few posts this thread has, but on the way back I was wondering how nutty people would be about hoping it was terrorism...I have to say that FR has greatly improved in this respect in the last 6-12 months; had this happened a year ago there would have been a half-dozen posters absolutely insisting it was a terror attack, and that anyone who didn't believe it was a terror attack was an AQ sympathizer (which never quite made any sense, but it did happen quite often.) Actually, I suspect most of those types (can't remember the screennames) have left FR.

Anyway, I fully agree with the previous poster that the reason these trucks explode at major interchanges is that there's more fixed, hard stuff to hit..either going off the road above, or hitting an abutment, instead of simply going off the road.

[JustPiper]

Very similiar to what I posted. We do have several cities still on orange as I'm sure Sarge knows, besides airport, tankers, water, nuke plants etc. We are always worried about a 'diversion'

[Old Sarge]

Already on it, Piper.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

A little off subject (your post reminded me) does anyone remember the HUGE fire in Doraville [GA] about 30 (give or take) years ago at the gasoline storage facility?

[JustPiper]

LOL, until they bleed you for your source Sarge -hehe- but your right FR always gets any news first!

[freedomson]

Fill it in yourself.

[Sender]

There was a tanker fire in Atlanta a few years ago that happened under an overpass. The fire was so hot that it disintegrated much of the concrete in the overhead lanes. They had to replace the steel beams, concrete, everything. Man that had to be hot!

[JustPiper]

You have my gratitude Sarge ;)