Fuel barges explode, causing fire in Alabama; 3 in critical condition
by The Associated Press
Fire officials said they planned to let fire burn overnight
MOBILE, Ala.—A large fire that began with explosions aboard two fuel barges in Mobile, Ala., has been rocked by a seventh explosion.
Fire officials said they planned to let the fire, which has injured three, burn overnight.
Firefighters from Mobile and U.S. Coast Guard officials responded after 8:30 p.m. April 24 to a pair of explosions involving the gas barges in an area of the Mobile River east of downtown, authorities said.
As they were responding, a third explosion occurred around 9:30 p.m., Mobile Fire and Rescue spokesman Steve Huffman wrote in an email to The Associated Press.
Additional explosions followed over the next few hours.
The Coast Guard said a one-nautical-mile safety zone had been established around one barge, which it said was “at the dock for cleaning.”
Authorities said three people were transported to University of South Alabama Medical Center after suffering burn-related injuries.
Huffman identified them as workers with Oil Recovery Co.
The three were in critical condition, according to hospital nursing administrator Danny Whatley.
Across the river, the Carnival Triumph, the cruise ship that became disabled in the Gulf of Mexico in February before it was towed to Mobile’s port, was evacuated, said Alan Waugh, who lives at the Fort Conde Inn in downtown Mobile, across the river from the scene of the explosions.
Waugh saw the blasts and said throngs of Carnival employees and others were clustered on streets leading toward the river as authorities evacuated the shipyard.
“It literally sounded like bombs going off around. The sky just lit up in orange and red,” he said. “We could smell something in the air, we didn’t know if it was gas or smoke.”
Waugh said he could feel the heat from the explosion and when he came back inside, his partner noticed he had what appeared to be black soot on his face.
U.S. Coast Guard petty officer Carlos Vega said the initial blast took place in a ship channel near the George C. Wallace Tunnel—which carries traffic from Interstate 10 under the Mobile River.
The river runs south past Mobile and into Mobile Bay, which in turn flows into the Gulf of Mexico.
Video from WALA-TV showed flames engulfing a large section of the barge.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear, Huffman and Vega said.
“Once (the fire) is out and safe, a full investigation will take place,” Huffman wrote.
Mobile Fire Chief Steve Dean told AL.com he was confident the fire wouldn’t spread to nearby industrial properties, including the shipyard where the Carnival cruise ship is docked.
Huffman said the ship is directly across the river from the incident—about two football fields in length.
The barges are owned by Houston-based Kirby Inland Marine, company spokesman Greg Beuerman said.
He said the barges were empty and being cleaned at the Oil Recovery Co. facility when the incident began.
He said the barges had been carrying a liquid called natural gasoline—which he said is neither liquefied natural gas or natural gas.
He said the company has dispatched a team to work with investigators to determine what caused the fire.
