5,000 gallon petroleum tank explodes - Cincinnati, Ohio area

[VolcanoJen]

http://www.wcpo.com/news/2004/local/03/20/explosion.html

This happened only a short time ago, and little is known at this time.

Cincy-area DUers, take note... they've actually activated the Emergency Broadcast System in order to warn residents of the dangers. They're asking those who live near the Marathon Ashland Petroleum Plant in Miami Township (Northbend - West Cincinnati) to stay indoors, close windows and await further instructions.

My heart stopped when the EBS system came on and I realized it wasn't a test... please take care if you live in the area.

:scared:

UPDATE: WCPO (Channel 9) says that there are no injuries so far, but a fire rages around the tank that exploded, and officials are concerned the fire may spread to the other, nearby tanks.

[Newsjock]

1. In other news ...

... motorists in Cincinnati were shocked Sunday to find that gasoline prices had risen by as much as 20 cents per gallon at local stations.

[Mari333]

2. Lets hope there were no injuries or deaths, thats how my husband died

in a chemical explosion of one of those goddamned places. Its soooo fucking dangerous to work at one of those places..and my husband died during the Raygun admin in the 80s, when OSHA standards were dropped and they hired cheap part time workers to replace union workers at the time..people fell asleep at the wheel that night he died, and someone didnt push the button when the alarms were going off on the control panel
seems like everytime a Repug is in office, people die on a daily basis because corporations get away with outright murder.
No family needs to go thru what we went thru. Lets pray no one has died or is injured.

[jus_the_facts]

4. I'm so sorry for your loss Mari333....

:pals:

[jus_the_facts]

3. Hope there aren't any deaths as a result of this.....

.....and it doesn't spread and become worse....dammit I loathe gasoline!!! :(

[VolcanoJen]

5. Scary... Civil Emergency Sirens, Emergency Broadcast System...

My cable converter just reset itself, and when it came back on, the awful, troubling blare of the EBS urged me to tune to Channel 22 for an Urgent Civil Emergency Message.

I have to tell you, and not to diminish the explosion, on the day that Americans are protesting the Iraq War Anniversary, the EBS activation is about the scariest thing one could expect. I'm sure most DUers can imagine what ran through my head when the EBS was first activated, with a shaky-voiced woman announcing "This is NOT a test, repeat, this is NOT a test."

:scared:

As an update, the fire is apparently under control, but residents in the vicinity are urged to "take shelter inside," and turn off all ventilation to keep the fumes outside...

[revree]

6. Take care out there...

This is scary. Hope you are OK.

[laylah]

7. How frightening!

You be safe!

Jenn

[Atlant]

8. Anybody spot Trashcan Man nearby? (NT)

[VolcanoJen]

9. You know, maybe it's time to point out a flaw in the EBS.

So, the initial, troubling panic has subsided, yet the cable converter has reset itself for the 5th time today, presumably because it's in some unstoppable EBS-software loop or something.

Each time, when it comes back on, the EBS blares and a message appears on the TV screen, commanding television viewers to tune to Channel 22 for further instructions.

So, each time, like a good little patriot, I tuned to Channel 22. It was a warm day in Cincinnati, although the temperature is dropping and it's starting to rain. Weather. That's all there was on The Massive Self-Proclaimed All-Important Informative Panic Channel.

I'm just sayin', ya know? What if the powers-that-be had some serious information (again, I do not intend to diminish the petroleum tank explosion and its effect on neighborhood residents) to convey to the public? Looks like "This is NOT a test" turned into a test that was flunked, to me.