BREAKING NEWS - MASSIVE EXPLOSION AND FIRE - NJ [Actually, Staten Island NY: AM]

ME | 2/21/03 | SELF

[LonePalm]

I just turned and looked out my office window and saw a column of black smoke rising towards Union Beach/Perth Amboy NJ.

I then felt the force of an explosion rattle my window.

[finnman69]

try this link

http://www.cbsnewyork.com/

there is a link to live chopper footage

[mhking]

Live Feed: WCBS-TV

[Hemingway's Ghost]

The "expert" on FNC just said it contains about a million gallons, actually, although it is propane? This shouldn't affect gas prices should it?

I posted when the thread speculated gasoline, so you're probably correct.

[NittanyLion]

i agree with you and they run around screaming and crying and wringing their hands all excited about every little thing that happens even those things that would not have even made page 6 in the local paper just a few years ago for some that is the legacy of 9-11 i guess many are now just scared of their own shadow that means the terrorists have won by default

When we've seen terrorists strike the USS Cole while docked, and are in the midst of a "terror alert", it's reasonable for people to suspect there could be a terrorist element involved here.

[StriperSniper]

I bet that nearby barge is toast.

Those moored pleasure boats will go up in one puff when the fire line hits them.

I hope they shut off the supply soon, I don't think just a barge could keep up this intensity.

[Az Joe]

Perhaps we as Free Republic members should organize.

International Freeperhood of News Watchers? (I.F.N.W.)

[HELLRAISER II]

You're entitled to your opinion and quite honestly I believe your statement has merit, the media looks for just as many ghastly and terrible things they can find whether they have the facts or not. I don't think that all of these things are terrorist related, I just wonder if any of them are. There is a difference.

[aristeides]

When we've seen terrorists strike the USS Cole while docked,

And remember they also hit that French tanker the Limbourg.

[eyespysomething]

it should be
the muslims vs. everybody else (ie. infidels)

[Freedom2specul8]

Fox news said this was a storage facility and not a refinery... confirmed anywhere else yet?

[mhking]

From WCBS-TV:

Staten Island Refinery On Fire
No Reports Of Injuries

Feb 21, 2003 10:28 am US/Eastern
(CBS) (NEW YORK) Fire broke out at an oil refinery on the edge of Staten Island, sending black smoke and flames hundreds of feet into the air over New York Harbor.

WCBS 880's Frank Lanza watching the fire from the top floor of the CBS Broadcast Center estimates that the flames are reaching 13 stories into the air.

It wasn't immediately clear how the fire started. It was reported shortly after 10 a.m., according to a spokeswoman for the New York Fire Department.

The fire is in the Port Mobile section of the boro.

No further information was immediately available.

[Alberta's Child]

Back in the 1980s there was a massive explosion and fire at a Texaco refinery in Bayonne, New Jersey (right across the river from Staten Island). I was up late that night because I was sick, and it damned near knocked me out of bed even 10 miles away. People as far away as upstate New York and Connecticut (100+ miles away) reported that their houses shook.

There's no reason to rule out terrorism here, but it's not as if this hasn't happened before.

[AngryAmerican]

I think the biggest danger now is that the fire could spread and consume the entire refinery. I see dozens of storage tanks that are in danger

[JasonC]

That's true. But they are also an obvious sabotage target just now. Fits the Iraqi propaganda line etc. Remain skeptical, yes - accident is the most likely explanation - but these things deserve much harder looks at this particular moment.

[RecentConvert]

WABC just reported flames as high as 1,200-1,300 hundred feet.

Guest saying there is possibility of more explosions.

Verrazzano Narrows Bridge still closed.

Coast Guard on the scene.

[Dog]

One of the cable networks had a shot of the fire....and it looks like two different fires.

[mabelkitty]

I filled up last night, and thus far gas is $1,52, $1.62, and $1.72 - no change. Go fill up now!

[BushCountry]

Hey dude, I never said or implied it was a terrorist attack! I think it might be a possibility, but the simplest solution is usually the best. The Occam Razor principle states that one should not make more assumptions than the minimum needed. Base on all available data this appears to be an accident.

[mhking]

Try that CNN one - it's intermittant.