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The Water Cooler
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Huge explosion in Beirut
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<blockquote data-quote="dennishoddy" data-source="post: 3401450" data-attributes="member: 5412"><p>Very similar to the Texas city disaster in 1947 at Galveston where some reports say a discarded cigarette that caused a fire generated the biggest explosion in US history.</p><p></p><p>At 9:12 a.m., the ammonium nitrate reached an explosive threshold from the combination of heat and pressure.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_disaster#cite_note-7" target="_blank">[7]</a> The vessel <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detonation" target="_blank">detonated</a>, causing great destruction and damage throughout the port. The tremendous blast produced a 15-foot (4.5 m) wave that was detectable nearly 100 miles (160 km) from the Texas shoreline. The blast leveled nearly 1,000 buildings on land. The <em>Grandcamp</em> explosion destroyed the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto" target="_blank">Monsanto Chemical Company</a> plant and resulted in ignition of refineries and chemical tanks on the waterfront. Falling bales of burning twine from the ship's cargo added to the damage, and the <em>Grandcamp</em>'s anchor was hurled across the city. Two sightseeing airplanes flying nearby were blown out of the sky <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_disaster#cite_note-Engines-8" target="_blank">[8]</a>, while 10 miles (16 km) away, half of the windows in Galveston were shattered.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_disaster#cite_note-9" target="_blank">[9]</a> The explosion blew almost 6,350 short tons (5,760 metric tons) of the ship's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel" target="_blank">steel</a> into the air, some at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supersonic" target="_blank">supersonic</a> speed. Official casualty estimates came to a total of 567, including all the crewmen who remained aboard the <em>Grandcamp</em>. All but one member of the 28-man Texas City volunteer fire department were killed in the initial explosion on the docks while fighting the shipboard fire. With fires raging throughout Texas City, first responders from other areas were initially unable to reach the site of the disaster.</p><p></p><p>The first explosion ignited ammonium nitrate in the nearby cargo ship <em>High Flyer</em>. The crews spent hours attempting to cut the <em>High Flyer</em> free from her anchor and other obstacles, in order to move her, without success. After smoke had been pouring from the hold for over 5 hours, and about 15 hours after the explosions aboard the <em>Grandcamp</em>, the <em>High Flyer</em> exploded, demolishing the nearby SS <em>Wilson B. Keene</em>, killing at least two more people and increasing the damage to the port and other ships with more shrapnel and burning material. One of the propellers on the <em>High Flyer</em> was blown off and subsequently found nearly a mile inland. It is now part of a memorial park and is located near the anchor of the <em>Grandcamp</em>. The propeller is cracked in several places, and one blade has a large piece missing.</p><p></p><p>The cause of the initial fire on board the <em>Grandcamp</em> was never determined. It may have been started by a cigarette discarded the previous day, meaning the ship's cargo had been smoldering throughout the night when the fire was discovered on the morning of the day of the explosion.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_disaster#cite_note-fire_report-1" target="_blank">[1]</a></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_disaster" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_disaster</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="dennishoddy, post: 3401450, member: 5412"] Very similar to the Texas city disaster in 1947 at Galveston where some reports say a discarded cigarette that caused a fire generated the biggest explosion in US history. At 9:12 a.m., the ammonium nitrate reached an explosive threshold from the combination of heat and pressure.[URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_disaster#cite_note-7'][7][/URL] The vessel [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detonation']detonated[/URL], causing great destruction and damage throughout the port. The tremendous blast produced a 15-foot (4.5 m) wave that was detectable nearly 100 miles (160 km) from the Texas shoreline. The blast leveled nearly 1,000 buildings on land. The [I]Grandcamp[/I] explosion destroyed the [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsanto']Monsanto Chemical Company[/URL] plant and resulted in ignition of refineries and chemical tanks on the waterfront. Falling bales of burning twine from the ship's cargo added to the damage, and the [I]Grandcamp[/I]'s anchor was hurled across the city. Two sightseeing airplanes flying nearby were blown out of the sky [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_disaster#cite_note-Engines-8'][8][/URL], while 10 miles (16 km) away, half of the windows in Galveston were shattered.[URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_disaster#cite_note-9'][9][/URL] The explosion blew almost 6,350 short tons (5,760 metric tons) of the ship's [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel']steel[/URL] into the air, some at [URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supersonic']supersonic[/URL] speed. Official casualty estimates came to a total of 567, including all the crewmen who remained aboard the [I]Grandcamp[/I]. All but one member of the 28-man Texas City volunteer fire department were killed in the initial explosion on the docks while fighting the shipboard fire. With fires raging throughout Texas City, first responders from other areas were initially unable to reach the site of the disaster. The first explosion ignited ammonium nitrate in the nearby cargo ship [I]High Flyer[/I]. The crews spent hours attempting to cut the [I]High Flyer[/I] free from her anchor and other obstacles, in order to move her, without success. After smoke had been pouring from the hold for over 5 hours, and about 15 hours after the explosions aboard the [I]Grandcamp[/I], the [I]High Flyer[/I] exploded, demolishing the nearby SS [I]Wilson B. Keene[/I], killing at least two more people and increasing the damage to the port and other ships with more shrapnel and burning material. One of the propellers on the [I]High Flyer[/I] was blown off and subsequently found nearly a mile inland. It is now part of a memorial park and is located near the anchor of the [I]Grandcamp[/I]. The propeller is cracked in several places, and one blade has a large piece missing. The cause of the initial fire on board the [I]Grandcamp[/I] was never determined. It may have been started by a cigarette discarded the previous day, meaning the ship's cargo had been smoldering throughout the night when the fire was discovered on the morning of the day of the explosion.[URL='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_disaster#cite_note-fire_report-1'][1][/URL] [URL]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_disaster[/URL] [/QUOTE]
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