Incident Report

Subject:     Vietnam - fire hits gasoline station in Hanoi, 10 fire-fighters injured              

Date of Email report:   Wed 19/06/2013

Report Detail:

Good Training Lessons Learned Video - How not to tackle a flammable liquid fire.  Lots of good intentions, however, no command and control, too many fire-fighters in the hot zone, chaos from start to finish,  and deployment of dry chemical (powder) on top of foam blanket, breaking up the foam and allowing vapour breakthrough and rapid fire escalation engulfing fire-fighters engaged in foaming operations.   This incident could have been tackled by 2 – 4 fire-fighters max. utilising effective streams, good quality foam through, portable ground monitors remotely.  NB:  I think the 1000 people quote in the story must be a typo!!!

Ten fire-fighters were injured after an extensive fire broke out at the gasoline station No. 9 on Tran Hung Dao Street, Hanoi that belongs to the Military Gas & Oil Company at 1:15 pm on Monday.  As seen by photos, a fuel-tank truck carrying 100,000 litres of gasoline erupted in flames, sending billowing clouds of black smoke into the air.   According to Tuoi Tre’s on-the-scene-reporters, 10 fire-fighters sustained burn injuries while battling the fire and all of them have been taken to hospital for treatment.  The cause of the blaze was not immediately clear yet. 20 fire trucks and a large number of fire-fighters have been deployed to the scene.  As of 4:45pm today, fire fighters were still working to put it out entirely. Around 15 mins later, more than 1000 people were deployed to extinguish the fire. Tuoi Tre reporters at the scene said they could feel the heat and the smell of gasoline hundreds of meters away from the fire scene. 

Additional Documentation:

More images available here: http://tuoitrenews.vn/society/10291/big-fire-hits-gasoline-station-in-hanoi-photos