[Jackrabbit379]

Well,today,on the news,they said that a tanker,hauling ethanol,rolled over. It was said that it was in between Vernon,and Quanah,TX.(60? miles west of Wichita Falls). They closed both,north,and south bound sides of US 287. Have any of yall seen,or heard of it? They said on the news that the highway will re-open sometime,tomorrow. Keep yall posted.

[yoopr]

Ethanol-Sounds like a explosive situation waiting to happen.

[Jackrabbit379]

Yeah. :shock: Apparently,there was a fire,but 287 is wide,and has the big grass median,so I dont understand why they had to close both sides. Hopefully,it will be in the paper in the morning,and I can find out more.

[Mr. Ford95]

Not knowing just how wide 287 is, ethanol can make quite a big boom when it pops or maybe it was the median that was on fire.

[Jackrabbit379]

Yeah,I'm sure it can. Here is the story from our paper.


Overturned tanker stops traffic
Official: Driver lost control on southbound lane of highway

By Linda Stewart/For the Times Record News
January 27, 2007

VERNON (Special) -An overturned tanker truck caused traffic on U.S. Hwy 287 north of here to be shut down temporarily and be rerouted for several hours late Friday afternoon.

Emergency workers considered options about handling the 7,800 gallons of ethanol in the tanker. Traffic was stopped in both lanes of the divided highway. Department of Public Safety Trooper Clay Shelton said 30-year-old Douglas Dean Towns of Julesburg, Colo., driver of the 2006 Weston Star tractor, apparently lost control and overturned in the southbound lane of the highway about 10 miles north of here near the Hardeman County line.

Towns was taken to Chillicothe Hospital by Hardeman County EMS where he was treated and waiting to be released late Friday, according to authorities at the scene.

Billy Taylor, Texas Department of Transportation assistant supervisor, said northbound traffic was rerouted onto FM 432 and then to FM 924 into Chillicothe and southbound traffic was rerouted to FM 925 to Farmers Valley and back to U.S. Hwy 287. The highway was closed for several hours while a haz-mat crew from Fort Worth cleaned the area.

BNSF Railway traffic was also halted until the area was declared safe.

Vernon Fire Capt. Paul Miller said the contents of the trailer were flammable and highly explosive.

Representatives of the Vernon Fire/EMS Department, the Chillicothe Volunteer Fire Department, Wilbarger County Sheriff's Department, the Texas Department of Transportation and DPS troopers were at the scene.

[bullhauler]

hope that tanker company had good insurance, it costs alot of money to stop a train, see you just do not stop one, it is the whole line, about a million bucks an hour, they closed a rail line by me for a fire, the rail company billed the poor guy who had the fire nine million bucks, bust his a$$.

[Jackrabbit379]

Originally Posted by bullhauler

hope that tanker company had good insurance, it costs alot of money to stop a train, see you just do not stop one, it is the whole line, about a million bucks an hour, they closed a rail line by me for a fire, the rail company billed the poor guy who had the fire nine million bucks, bust his a$$.

Man. :shock:

Think of that tanker as a 40K lb bomb that was waiting to go off would you want to be driving around that while they were playing with it. I sure as HELL would not. Pure ethanol is not something you screw around with near my old hometown they are building a new plant and the city is putting a new fire station 2 blocks away to have a response time of less than 3 mins in case the plant ever caught fire.

[chapchap70]

Yeah. Shocked Apparently,there was a fire,but 287 is wide,and has the big grass median,so I dont understand why they had to close both sides. Hopefully,it will be in the paper in the morning,and I can find out more.

According to the 2004 ERG, Ethanol solution is considered a flammable liquid that mixes with water. If there is a fire, the guide (127) recommends isolation for 1/2 mile and also suggests evacuating the area for the same distance in all directions.