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Exploding Gas Cylinders in Dockland Blaze
AROUND 11pm on
Merseyside Police and Fire crews cordoned off a 300m Stretch around
a fire in a pallet depot near Stanley Dock, on 13 March 2009, as the ground shook and
exploding gas cylinder shot out of the yard. At one point a cylinder
narrowly missed two port police officers. One of them told our
editor just minutes after "My heart is pounding. It nearly
took us both out and the police van. It crashed down on the road
with so much force the ground shuddered." Our photograph
shows part of the cylinder, just minutes after the near miss. 30ft
flames made the fire visible from the Wirral and the risk of other
gas cylinders exploding made the situation extremely hazardous. As
the fire crews battled the fire a resident told us that they had a
dog in their house and expressed how worried they were for its
safety. At one point during the blaze some nearby residents said
they thought a bomb had gone off. The main explosion was so loud
that it blew out windows of a near by office block and could even be
heard in Wallasey. The owner of the pallet depot Michael Slinger,
was on scene shortly after of hearing of the blaze. Mr Slinger
said:- "It has shaken me. As soon as I found out, I dashed
back to find fire crews battling an inferno. It’s just terrible."
Surprisingly, the near by Stanley Dock market was unaffected by the
fire and was open for business the following day.,
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