Thick black smoke and flames rose from a warehouse in the Canadian city of Winnipeg on Monday, after a huge fire broke out.
Winnipeg, Canada firefighters responded about 5:30 p.m. CT Monday to a Speedway International, Inc. at 40 Nicholas Avenue. The plant manufactures Pro Comp Racing Methanol. Residents were evacuated within a .6 mile radius (1 km) — affecting about 100 homes. Residents were able to return about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.
People near by witnessed several explosions and a huge BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion) and the smell of fuel-related chemicals.
Crews got control of the fire with a foam truck from the Department of National Defence’s 17 Wing base in Winnipeg.
Significant industrial BLEVEs include accidents have occurred at Sunray, Texas in 1956, Glasgow, Scotland in 1960, Feyzin, France in 1966; Crescent City, Illinois in 1970; Kingman, Arizona in 1973; Texas City, Texas in 1978; Murdock, Illinois in 1983; and San Juan Ixhuatepec, Mexico City in 1984. On July 11, 1978, a BLEVE occurred with an ethylene tank truck in the Los Alfaques Disaster in Spain. In 2010 in Bialystok in Poland fire after train crash caused two explosions of two tank wagons with diesel fuel.
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