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I-10 shut down near Chandler Boulevard after deadly tanker-truck collision by John Faherty - Nov. 9, 2011 11:33 AM The Arizona Republic A massive explosion and fire after a collision between two tanker trucks on Interstate 10 turned a quiet Wednesday morning into chaos near the Chandler-Phoenix border. The accident happened at 8, when a diary truck ran into the back of a truck filled with a flammable mixture that was 70 percent diesel fuel and 30 percent gasoline. Immediately after the crash, an ominous cloud of black smoke filled the air. The driver of the dairy truck managed to get out of his cab, but died at the scene. For a period of approximately 30 minutes, there was an evacuation order in place for all businesses within a collision. Police knocked on doors and told people to get out. Fire crews had to stretch more than 1,300 hundred feet of hose to get to the blaze. At 9:45, nearly two hours after the collision, fire crews were finally able to approach the fire. They poured water and foam on the blaze. Almost immediately, the fire went out, and the thick black smoke was gone. The evacuation order was lifted. "This was a fatality, which is tragic, but it could have been much worse," said Scott McDonald, Phoenix Fire Department Battalion Chief. Officials from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality responded to the scene to assess air quality following a call it received from firefighters at the crash site. Burning diesel fuel can emit fumes from the fire itself as well as tiny air particulates that can infiltrate lungs and the bloodstream of people breathing the air nearby. The particulates are known as PM-2.5 because they measure 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter and are among the pollutants that can produce the worst health effects if they are inhaled. Maricopa County Air Quality officials also monitored the site, spokeswoman Holly Ward said. The winds were blowing out of the east-northeast, moving smoke toward the west-southwest and away from the most populated areas. There were no air inversions in the area, which means the smoke and burning materials were being carried upward and away from the site. The Kyrene School District never evacuated schools. Horizon Community Learning Center, which is near the crash site, released for the day. The Arizona Department of Transportation says Interstate 10 east and westbound at Chandler Boulevard is closed. It will almost certainly by closed for hours. Ray Road and Chandler Boulevard would make good alternates. Also, Loop 202, the westbound San Tan Freeway, at Interstate I-10 is closed Meanwhile, Chandler police have been instructed to begin evacuating hotels and businesses on the Chandler side of I-10 within a 1-mile radius of I-10 and Chandler Boulevard.
1 killed when 2 tankers collide on freeway at rush hour Posted: Wednesday, November 9, 2011 8:49 am | Updated: 10:42 am, Wed Nov 9, 2011. Associated Press CHANDLER, Ariz. (AP) — Two tanker trucks collided and burst into flames on a busy freeway in a south Phoenix suburb during the height of the rush hour Wednesday morning, killing at least one person and closing both directions of Interstate 10. Authorities in Phoenix say a milk truck driver was killed when he rear-ended another tanker truck hauling fuel, sparking a huge fire that snarled rush hour traffic for hours. Police in Chandler and state police ordered the evacuations of at least two hotels and a school alongside I-10, Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves said. Chandler police said they were moving people from hotels, homes and businesses within a one-mile radius to the east of the freeway. The Phoenix Fire Department asked residents on the west side of the freeway to stay in their homes. Horizon Community Learning Center on the west side of the freeway was closed for the day and students were sent home. Graves confirmed that one person was killed in the crash. The crash happened when one tanker rear-ended another tanker truck and caught fire, Graves said. One of them was carrying 7,700 gallons of diesel fuel, which fueled an intense fire that sent blames and black smoke into the air. The crash happened at about 7:45 a.m. and snarled freeway traffic across the suburbs south of Phoenix, Graves said. Interstate 10 was closed in both directions from U.S. 60 south to the Loop 202 freeway. Both are major routes into and out of Phoenix from the south. Firefighters were extremely cautious because of the threat of explosion, Graves said. "They let it burn for quite a while and now they're moving in," he said about two hours after the collision. It took fire crews about 10 minutes to douse the flames once they moved in. "Our big focus is to keep that entire east Valley freeway system clear so they can work on this and put it out," Graves said.
I am sure the investigation will be a big waste of time and a jobs program for the overpaid cops that will do it but the fire was an interesting thing. Investigation starts on I-10 tanker-truck crash that killed 1 Interstate is closed for miles after fatal rush-hour collision by Laurie Merrill, Alex Ferri, and John Faherty - Nov. 10, 2011 12:00 AM The Arizona Republic One of the Valley's worst traffic nightmares has ended, but the investigation into a tanker-truck collision that closed miles of Interstate 10 for most of Wednesday and led to a driver's fiery death is just beginning. Investigators from the state Department of Public Safety are gathering evidence, inspecting drivers' records and interviewing witnesses to determine what caused the driver of a milk truck to rear-end a tanker truck early Wednesday that was carrying thousands of gallons of a fuel byproduct. Unique Towing of Phoenix transported the burned husks of the trucks to a facility for further examination, and a toxicology report was ordered on the deceased milk-truck driver. The chaos began when the milk truck ran into the fuel tanker on the westbound I-10 near Chandler Boulevard and "both vehicles burst into flames," said Carrick Cook, spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety. A loud boom sounded as a fireball ignited, sending flames shooting 60 feet into the air. Acrid black smoke billowed above the blaze and was seen for miles . In the midst of the inferno, the driver of the milk truck managed to unbuckle his seatbelt and exit the fiery cab. "He was eventually able to free himself and crawl from the tanker, but he was on fire," Cook said. The driver burned to death on the pavement next to his truck. The driver of the other tanker, which contained a volatile blend of 70 percent diesel fuel and 30 percent gasoline destined for use at an asphalt plant, was uninjured. Police officers, firefighters and the DPS descended on the chaotic scene shortly after the 8 a.m. crash. They began evacuating businesses and homes within a 1-mile radius, but after 30 minutes, they relaxed instructions to residents, telling them to stay sheltered inside. The Department of Environmental Quality was called to test the pungent smoke. Firefighters brought in two water tanks and attached a hose to a hydrant 1,300 feet away to quench the blaze. It took 100 firefighters two hours and 7,700 gallons of water as well as foam to put out the fire. The lack of fire hydrants on the freeway is typical, Phoenix Fire Battalion Captain Scott McDonald said. "That's normal," he said. "Could you imagine having fire hydrants every 500 feet? We couldn't afford it." [ That is an unusual statement for a government bureaucrat to make. Usually they think the government can afford anything and should buy anything that could make their jobs easier. ] Witnesses near the crash described a loud noise and a noxious plume that seemed to cover everything in the aftermath of the collision. "There was black smoke everywhere," said Barbara Stowe, of Feeding Hills, Mass., a guest at the Extended Stay America motel near Chandler Boulevard and 50th Street. "It was just terrible." The crash made for an excruciating Wednesday morning rush hour, as the highway was shut in both directions. The eastbound I-10 lanes reopened shortly after 2:30 p.m. The westbound lanes were expected to remain closed through 5 a.m. today. "The freeway was just like a parking lot," said Nancy Eslager, who was en route from Chandler to Ahwatukee when the tankers collided. "We could see smoke the entire time we were driving. It was just terrible." Before the fire was extinguished, the DEQ was more worried about fuel explosions than air quality, having feared that the fuel contained a higher concentration of the more explosive gasoline. That the driver was the only person injured in the crash was very fortunate, McDonald said. He noted there were no other injuries or collisions. The fire was put out before the winds kicked up and dispersed the foul smoke. "It is a fatality, which is tragic," McDonald said. "But it could have been a lot worse." Cathryn Creno, Shaun McKinnon, Carly M. Price, Brittany Noble and Weldon Johnson contributed to this article. |