One ring of fire to bind them all

[DerekLeung]

Fire

 

[DerekLeung]

At Least 59 Die in Bangkok Club Fire

 

[TeeKee]

SATAN Sibeh Kee Lat!

 

[DerekLeung]

Fire claims building at CCTV Beijing headquarters
Mon Feb 9, 2009 2:02pm EST

By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) - Fire consumed a building in Beijing that formed part of Central China Television's new headquarters as residents set off fireworks throughout the city to celebrate the Lantern Festival on Monday evening.

Flames 20-30 feet high shot out of the building, just north of the landmark CCTV tower designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. The flames were reflected in the tower, which itself appeared to be untouched.

"The upper fifth is on fire, multiple floors. Debris is falling and flames are coming out in all directions," Edie Marshall, a Beijing resident, told Reuters.

The fire began abating just before midnight (11:00 a.m. EST).

No one appeared to have been in the building, a policeman on the scene said, adding he had no immediate knowledge of any casualties.

Hundreds of people watched and took photos as fire trucks sprayed streams of water on the building. Armed police moved the onlookers beyond a cordon as paramilitary troops moved in on the building.

The fire department did not immediately comment on the suspected cause of the blaze, which occurred as the city was bombarded with fireworks on the final day of the Lunar New Year holiday.

The destroyed building housed the Mandarin Oriental hotel in eastern Beijing, which was supposed to open in 2009. It was also designed to include a theater, recording studios and cinemas, while CCTV's main production and broadcasting units were to occupy the main building next door.

(Writing by Lucy Hornby: Editing by Angus MacSwan)

 

[DerekLeung]

(Reuters) - Australian bushfires that killed at least 84 people near Melbourne at the weekend rank among the country's deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.

Here is a list of Australia's deadliest natural disasters, as chronicled by official Web sites:*

CYCLONE MAHINA, 1899: struck Cape York in the country's far north, causing the greatest death toll of any natural disaster in Australia's recorded history. More than 400 people died, including the crews of about 100 pearling fleet vessels, and an estimated 100 local Aborigines.

GUNDAGAI FLOODS, 1852: killed 89 of the southern rural town's 250 inhabitants. More people would have died were it not for the heroism of local Aborigine Yarri and his friend Jackie who saved more than 40 people using a bark canoe.

ASH WEDNESDAY BUSHFIRES, 1983: Fires erupted across Victoria and South Australia states, killing 75 people, including 12 volunteer firefighters. More than 2,000 houses were destroyed in Victoria and several hundred more in South Australia.

BLACK FRIDAY BUSHFIRES, 1939: Fires broke out in Victoria state, burning almost 2 million hectares (20,000 square km) and killing 71 people. Whole townships were destroyed, prompting a landmark inquiry that led to measures being taken to protect life and property in the event of future bushfires.

CYCLONE TRACY, 1974: struck the northern city of Darwin on Christmas Eve, flattening the city and killing 64 people and injuring many thousands. More than half of Darwin's population of 43,000 was left homeless.

TASMANIA BUSHFIRES, 1967: fire ripped through 264,000 hectares of forest on the southern island of Tasmania in just five hours, killing 62 people and destroying 1,400 homes.

 

[lolabunny]

SATAN Sibeh Kee Lat!

Why you call him Satan? So bad of you just because he posts photos of death. :p:p:p

 

[DerekLeung]

fire fire !

 

[DerekLeung]

Sun, Feb 15, 2009
The Straits Times / STOMP

Fire at Grand Hyatt Hotel

By Diana Othman

A FIRE broke out in an office on the mezzanine floor of the Grand Hyatt Singapore hotel on Sunday afternoon, but it was quickly doused by an in-house fire-fighting team.

The blaze was largely contained in the room, which is near the hotel's staff canteen.

About 100 staff and guests walked out of the hotel upon hearing the alarm.

According to STOMP, the fire broke out at the Grand Hyatt Hotel at Scotts Road in a small staff canteen office. The fire was discovered and put out by the hotel's fire-fighting team using a hose reel. No one was hurt in the blaze.

A spokesperson for the SCDF provided STOMP with more details:

"The SCDF received the call at 2.30 pm.

"The fire involved the staff canteen office, a small compartment about 2m x 1m.

"The SCDF dispatched one fire engine, one support vehicle and an ambulance to the scene.

"The fire was put out by the hotel's firefighting team using a hose reel before the SCDF arrived. The SCDF assisted by conducting ventilation to clear the premises of smoke.

"100 people were evacuated from the building, primarily hotel staff and a few guests.

"No one was conveyed to the hospital."

Here's what STOMPer valkyrie13, who was at the scene of the fire, had to say:

"At around 2.30pm today (Feb 15), thick smoke filled the area beside Grand Hyatt Hotel.

"We noticed that a fire had broken out - coming from the hotel building.

"Within minutes, the SCDF arrived and the situation was under control."

 

[DerekLeung]

Worst fire in Australian history !

Overwhelmed
A vehicle parked near the remains of a house destroyed by bushfires in the Australian town of Kinglake, 34 miles (55km) northeast of Melbourne, on February 8, 2009. Bushfires have killed over 130 people and burned hundreds of homes since they broke out in the region.

Heat Wave
Vehicles and a barn burn close to Labertouche, west of Melbourne, on February 7, as more than 40 blazes raged across two Australian states in a heatwave that pushed the mercury as high as 115 Fahrenheit.

Unprecedented Destruction
A burnt out house in King Lake. This week's crisis is the worst wildfire disaster in Australian history.

The Wreckage
A crush of charred cars outside Kinglake that were destroyed by fire. Thousands tried to escape the region as the fires spread, sending thousands fleeing in scenes Prime Minister Kevin Rudd compared to "hell" on Sunday.

Worse to Come
Firefighters try to contain an approaching front at Boolarra South in Gippsland, Victoria, at the end of January, less than two weeks before catastrophic flames hit the region.

Aftermath
Leveled houses in Kinglake. The fire has razed entire towns in southeastern Australia.

A Futile Fight?
A firefighter tries to contain a bushfire approaching the town of Peats Ridge, north of Sydney, on February 8.

Engulfed
A fire truck moves away from out-of-control flames from a bushfire in the Bunyip State Forest near the township of Tonimbuk, west of Melbourne.

Caught in the Flames
Dead cattle lie next to the road to Marysville after bushfires destroyed the town. Police suspect some of the fires were started by arsonists, whom Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has accused of "mass murder."

A Rising Toll
The fires' human death toll, already the highest in 26 years, is set to rise further as medics treat badly burned survivors and police sift through hundreds of homes destroyed by the fires.

Unfavorable Conditions
The fires come as large swathes of Australia have been grappling with a severe drought

A Wall of Smoke
Country Fire Authority staff monitor a giant fire raging in Bunyip State Park. The last time Australia saw such horrific conditions was during the Ash Wednesday wildfires of 1983, which killed 75 people and razed 2,500 homes.

A Public and Private Loss
Family members comfort each other on learning that their parents and disabled brother were among the victims who died in the Marysville bushfire.

Evidence
A destroyed bike lays in the charred ground in the town of Christmas Hills. Some of the towns destroyed in the fires have been declared crime scenes, as police try to uncover whether the fires were arsonists' work.

Mapping the Tragedy
A NASA image, rendered Feb. 7, shows a large plume of smoke spreading southward from fires, outlined in red, burning west of Churchill in Victoria's Gippsland region.

 

[DerekLeung]

Big forest fire in Tampines
By Cheryl Frois, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 22 February 2009 1711 hrs

SINGAPORE: A large forest fire broke out near Tampines Ave 9 at around noon Sunday.

The blaze, about the size of three football fields, took about 45 minutes to put out.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that the blaze was one of the many vegetation fires that have hit the country since January.

The vegetation fires were one reason behind hazy skies on some days.

Over 100 such fires have happened this month alone.

No injuries were reported in the fire on Sunday.

Investigations into the cause of the fire are going on

 

[Watchman]

Half a million people evacuated as deadly fire rages through Jaipur oil depot

Last updated at 9:57 AM on 01st November 2009

Up to half a million people have been evacuated after a massive fire erupted at a fuel depot in the Indian city of Jaipur last night night.

Twelve people have been confirmed dead and at least 150 injured in the blaze, which continues to rage out of control more than 17 hours after it started.

The fire broke out at around 7.30 pm in a giant tank holding 8,000 kilolitres of oil. It swiftly spread out of control as huge flames leapt into the air and thick black smoke billowed into the night sky.

Inferno: Onlookers stare in awe as the flames rage above the oil depot near Jaipur this morning. The blaze could be seen from 16 miles away

Flight: Birds flee the flames raging above the depot this morning as thousands of litres of oil burned

A series of massive explosions could be heard up to 20 miles away as the fire spread to from one tank to another. The Ministry of Earth Sciences said the impact of one explosion measure 2.3 on the Richter scale, usually used to measure earthquakes.

Chief fire officer Ishwar Lal said 10 tankers containing 100,000 kilolitres of fuel were affected by the Thousands of people in nearby villages panicked and fled from their homes as the inferno spread to industrial units two miles away, burning them to the ground.

'There are about 30 fire tenders on the scene doing their best to break the fire but it's very difficult when it's split among several storage facilities like this,' Rajasthan director general of police Harish Meena said.

Dense black smoke fills the sky above the depot this morning as residents living nearby were rushed to safety

Flames engulf a building on the site as the fire spreads to gas tankers nearby

'A leak in the oil pipeline could have triggered the fire but we don't know at this stage.'

Indian Oil Company officials said the fire was likely to rage for up to 24 hours until the fuel burnt itself out.

Powerless fireman could not get within 300 metres of the blaze and the use of helicopters was ruled out because the intensity of the heat would have made them ineffective.

At least 300 soldiers were drafted in to assist the rescue work at the depot in the Sanganer industrial area on a highway near the airport.

Every fire engine and ambulance in Jaipur was deployed, and every hospital in the city put on red alert, with reinforcements called in from Delhi 160 miles away.

Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, who left for Jaipur when the scale of the blaze became apparent, said: 'The fire is massive. We are finding it difficult to douse it.'

District administration sources said residents of ten nearby towns, which house an estimated 500,000 people, and inmates of hostels in ten engineering, technical and medical colleges had been evacuated in the wake of the incident.

Indian Oil Company chairman Sarthak Behuria said the fire broke out at a petrol storage tank and quickly spread to other tanks that were connected through a huge reservoir of oil in the basement.

The blaze enveloped about a dozen adjoining industrial units, while the blasts hit a number of shops in nearby markets.

The walls and glass panes of local colleges were damaged by the explosions. The blaze was visible from over 16 miles away.

The depot, 10 miles south of Jaipur, the state capital of Rajasthan, stores gasoline, kerosene, hydrocarbon, petrol and diesel fuel for several state-owned oil companies.

Spreading danger: The fire at the depot has spread to gas tanks two miles away

Flames engulf several buildings on the Jaipur oil depot site

At least 150 people were in nearby hospitals being treated for burns and other injuries.

'We're asking for expert advice to help us control the fire,' Ashok Gehlot, the state's Chief Minister said.

After visiting the injured in the Sawai Mansingh Hospital, Mr Gehlot announced a compensation of Rs 200,000 (£2,500) for the dead and Rs 50,000 (£650) for those seriously injured.

The government would bear the cost of treatment of the injured.

Nearby tanks of liquid petroleum gas were believed to be safe, said Chief Fire Officer Ishwar Lal, who warned it would have been 'devastating' if they had exploded.

Assistant Director General of Police Navdeep Singh said two companies of the Rajasthan Armed Constabulary had been deployed to control crowds and evacuate people to safer places.

A three-mile area around the fire spot has been declared a danger zone.

Today's incident is the third major fire in the state. In April 2000, an inferno engulfed the army's ammunition depot at Bharatpur, while in May 2001 another fire broke out at the Bikaner army range.

 

[Watchman]

I was at the spot few mins after the fire broke at Indian Oil Bhavan (Indian Oil Building/Bharat Petroleum Building) in NOIDA, near New Delhi, India.

Lots and lots of people, reporters, news channels, police.. but very few fire brigades!! The fourth floor had caught fire, and I pray no one was injured.

JAIPUR: A massive fire at an oil depot in western India had left ten people dead, an official said Sunday, as the blaze raged on after more than 48 hours.

The fire, caused by a suspected oil pipeline leak, broke out Thursday night at the Indian Oil Corp (IOC) compound on the outskirts of Jaipur in the desert state of Rajasthan.
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