Bus explodes carrying evacuees (24 dead, Fox News)

drudgereport. ^ | 9235

[InvisibleChurch]

DEATHS: Bus carrying Hurricane Rita evacuees has exploded on Interstate 45 near Dallas...

[Deguello]

A sealed pressure vessel will explode when heated to a point above the burst pressure of the vessel. This will make a very violent blast furnace.

[freeperfromnj]

OMG, that picture sent chills up my spine. Such horrible news.

[montag813]

The sad thing is that many of these people probably didn't have to avacuate to be safe. Life can be rough.

[stockpirate]

Sorry but while what you state is technically correct you have no understanding of the laws that cover the pressure vessel mentioned here.

Way before they reach that point the pressure relief value will open and all the gas will leave the container to reduce the pressure to zero.

Surce: ME, 10 years as a Professional Firefighter.

[happinesswithoutpeace]

Someone posted "Sparks from the breaks ignited gas tanks"
earlier. What I am thinking is the sparks ignited the fuel from the diesel tanks, and then the 02 cylinders (if they were present on the bus) suffered a catastrophic failure as a result of the heat.

[happinesswithoutpeace]

What about the force of the fuel tanks if they went up?

[NRA2BFree]

Oh my gosh. that's just horrible. Prayers go out to all who were on that bus, and to their loved ones.

[cantfindagoodscreenname]

OMG, they let someone on oxygen SMOKE?

I remember my great grandfather being in a hospital/nursing home (I forget which) when I was a little girl and he smoked while on oxygen. Even at the age of 5, I thought it was strange.

[stockpirate]

The fuel used in these busses is not gasoline. The important pointhere is that the film footage shows no explosive damage, it looks like a burned out bus noting more.

[lawdude]

Houston -- "The sad thing is that many of these people probably didn't have to avacuate to be safe. Life can be rough."


New Orleans -- "The sad thing is that many of these people probably had to evacuate to be safe. Life can be rough."

George did it.
PAH

[tubebender]

Why would the brakes catch on fire. They were on level ground going very slow. I saw the firefighters inspecting the luggage compartment on the side of the bus and the area around it was severely burned. There could have been extra tanks in there, ala Valu-Jet...

[Mamzelle]

During gas shortages there are a lot of people carrying around those red plastic tanks...

[R. Scott]

Very likely. Reports now indicate that after a fire on the bus, oxygen bottles went off. I try not to put much faith in initial news reports even if they are occasionally correct.

[Let's Roll]

Dallas Morning News saying 24 dead.

http://www.dallasnews.com/

[School Bus Driver]

The driver probably left the emergency brake on.

The brakes would not have caught fire under normal use.

(stop and go traffic, the driver gets tired, engages parking brake, forgets about it...)

[tubebender]

Are there warning devices for such a situation?

[rabidralph]

Is that a skeleton in the front window of the bus, near the ceiling?

[Milligan]

Oxygen tanks and a smoke don't mix.

[quantfive]

I am going to say prayers for these folks. Imigine being 80 and having to get on a bus to flee the town and this happens. This is another tragedy just like the elderly in NO. I loved my grandparents dearly and the two sets I had all pased away in the last 5 years.

[Steve_Seattle]

"Why would the brakes catch on fire. They were on level ground going very slow. I saw the firefighters inspecting the luggage compartment on the side of the bus and the area around it was severely burned."

I agree that the brakes-caught-fire theory sounds pretty weak. AS you seem to suggest, perhaps some flammable material was improperly stored in the luggage compartment, and caught fire in there. Then the compressed oxygen in the passengers' tanks could have caused secondary explosions. But the whole thing is too weird. As MHKING would say, "Just damn."