Posted on 11/23/2005 11:40:38 AM PST by Freedom of Speech Wins
Tanker Fire Closes I-95 North of D.C.Tanker Truck Fire Closes Portions of Interstate 95 North of Washington, D.C., on Heavy Travel Day
A tanker truck carrying 8,700 gallons of gasoline burns after exploding on southbound Interstate 95 on one of the busiest travel days of the year, Wednesday morning, Nov. 23, 2005 in Beltsville, Md., just outside of Washington. (AP Photo/Peter Matthews)
By BRETT ZONGKER Associated Press Writer
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON Nov 23, 2005 — Traffic was snarled around the nation's capital early Wednesday after a tanker truck carrying 8,700 gallons of gasoline exploded on Interstate 95 on one of the busiest travel days of the year.
The truck driver was able to escape unharmed after he noticed one of his rear wheels burning as he headed south from Baltimore around 5 a.m. EST.
"I jumped out and the next thing you know, she started going up in flames," the driver, Boyor Chew, told WRC-TV. "First it was a slow starting fire. Then all the compartments blew up at the same time."
Chew, of Odenton, Md., said he was lucky to be alive. He pulled the truck over to the shoulder of the road and jumped out. A family from New Jersey stopped on the highway to call 911 and let Chew warm up.
Chew works for Ocean Petroleum in Newark, Md., and had filled his tanker earlier in the morning at the Port of Baltimore to deliver gasoline to a station in Silver Spring. An engineer from the company was sent to the fire scene.
"We don't know exactly what happened, but we've never had a tanker explode and burn up," Ocean Petroleum chief operating officer Steve Ladd told The Associated Press.
Flames shot high into the air for nearly two hours as firefighters let the fire burn itself out. Drivers stopped near the scene were told to get out and abandon their cars for fear or a larger explosion, but no injuries were reported, said Prince George's County Fire and Rescue spokesman Mark Brady.
Two southbound lanes of I-95 were reopened to traffic by 8:15 a.m, and the remaining lanes were expected to reopen after some resurfacing where the truck burned, said Maryland State Highway Administration spokesman David Buck.
Metro buses were brought in to help transport holiday travelers from the Greenbelt Metro station to Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
"This is not what we needed to start this travel day," said Lon Anderson, spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic. "This is a reminder of just how fragile our transportation system is."
As of this hour, it is reopened.
Initially, southbound and northbound traffic on I-95 was shut down. The northbound lanes were reopened at approximately 5:30 a.m., according to Brady.
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Two southbound lanes of I-95 were reopened to traffic about 8 a.m, and the remaining lanes were expected to reopen after some resurfacing where the truck burned, said Maryland State Highway Administration spokesman David Buck.
They had two lanes open around noon, and a short time ago news reports indicated they repaired the road enough to open all lanes (but there still may be backups).
re: A tanker truck carrying 8,700 gallons of gasoline burns after exploding on southbound Interstate 95
It would probably be more accurate to report the truck was burning after catching fire, not exploding. When all the smoke clears it's usually pretty evident that there was a fire but no explosion.
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