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Screenshot from KTLA.com news story
16 Feb 2024

Natural gas powered semi truck exploded - 9 firefighters injured

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Nine Los Angeles firefighters were injured when a natural-gas-powered semi-truck that had caught fire exploded in Wilmington early Thursday, reports the LA Times. 

The explosion created  9 meters / 30-foot flames into the air and the noise rattled the neighbourhood.

According to fire officials, 10 firefighters responded to a vehicle fire, shortly before 7 a.m. Six minutes after they arrived, while attempting to suppress the fire, a 100-gallon / 380 liter compressed natural gas exploded. 

The semi truck was an usual  vehicle in that it wasn’t powered by diesel. It was fueled by two 100-gallon tanks of compressed natural gas mounted on either side of the truck. The tanks were under 3,300 pounds of pressure. When one of the tanks exploded, the blast was significant, L.A. Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott said.

Video from the scene showed the blackened truck sitting adjacent to railroad tracks and debris scattered across the street. 

Nine firefighters were transported to the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Two remained in critical condition as of Thursday afternoon.  One of the firefighters in critical condition was transferred to Los Angeles General Medical Center, which operates one of the three specialized burn centers in the city, the hospital said.

 

Photo Credit: Screenshot from KTLA.com news story on YouTube

 

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