Buncefield Explosion

Three explosions caused a massive fire that destroyed the northern half of the 100 acre Buncefield oil depot. Tanks contained a variety of fuels - unleaded, super unleaded motor spirit, gas oil and ultra low sulphur diesel (excluding aviation fuel). The blaze lasted for 5 days, with 180 firefighters and 45 vehicles in attendance at peak times. Hundreds of households in the nearby area areahad to be evacuated. It's thought that as the explosion occurred at an early times on a Sunday, was a key factor in why there were no fatalities. It is likely that if the explosion occurred in the week and in the middle of the day then the death toll would look very different.