Dutch firefighters tackle blaze at chemical plant

Dutch firefighters tackle blaze at chemical plant
THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Local authorities warned residents to stay indoors and keep doors and windows shut Wednesday as a major blaze and Explosions ripped through a chemical storage and packing company. Television images show a towering plume of thick smoke churning out of the fire and several powerful blasts, apparently as storage tanks exploded. The fire started in the early afternoon at Chemie-Pack Nederland BV in an industrial estate in the southern town of Moerdijk. Moerdijk mayor W...

Dutch firefighters tackle blaze at chemical plant
Local authorities told residents to stay indoors last night as some 150 Firefighters attempted to smother a huge blaze that had been raging for hours at a chemical storage and packing company. The fire started in the early afternoon at Chemie-Pack Nederland BV in an industrial estate in the southern town of Moerdijk, sending a towering plume of thick smoke into the air and causing several powerful blasts, apparently as storage tanks exploded. Police spokesman Willem van Hooijdonk told national...

Dutch firefighters tackle blaze at chemical plant
A plume of smoke billows from a burning Chemical Plant as Firefighters are seen outside the plant in the southern Dutch town of Moerdijk, Netherlands, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011. Local authorities warned residents to stay indoors and keep doors and windows shut Wednesday as a major blaze and Explosions ripped through a chemical storage and packing company. Local authorities warned residents to stay indoors and keep doors and windows shut Wednesday as a major blaze and Explosions ripped through a c...

Dutch chemical plant ablaze
MOERDIJK, Netherlands, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- A huge fire erupted at a Chemical Plant in the Netherlands Wednesday, officials said. The blaze at the Chemie-Pack plant near Rotterdam prompted authorities to put the southern part of South Holland province on alert because of a large cloud of toxic black smoke that had reached the town of Dordrecht, Radio Netherlands reported. People in the area were being told to stay indoors and to keep their doors and windows shut. There were no reports of serious inj...

Chemical blaze sparks Dutch alert
The southern Netherlands is on its highest state of alert after a major blaze at a Chemical Plant in Moerdijk sent out a thick cloud of smoke. The cloud was floating towards the north and had reached the city of Dordrecht, Dutch media said. Some 400,000 litres of carcinogenic material are stored at the Chemie-Pack plant, De Telegraaf says. There were no reports of casualties and local officials said it was unclear if toxic fumes had been released. Troops were helping to tackle the flames, said t...

Chemical plant fire in Holland
Officials in the Netherlands have been put on high alert after a fire at Chemical Plant sent out a thick plume of smoke. People in the southern city of Dordrecht have been warned to keep their windows and doors shut amid fears of toxic fumes. Antony Weller reports....

Dutch minister wants detail of Iran death sentence
THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal called on Iran Wednesday to provide details of the case of a Dutch-Iranian woman whose daughter says she has been sentenced to death for Drug Smuggling. Rosenthal said in a statement he was "very concerned" about the fate of Sahra Bahrami after her daughter told a Dutch Radio Station Wednesday her mother was handed the death sentence. Bahrami has been jailed in Iran since December 2009. Dutch Diplomats have been denied access to her becau...

Dutch minister wants detail of Iran death sentence
THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal called on Iran Wednesday to provide details of the case of a Dutch-Iranian woman whose daughter says she has been sentenced to death for Drug Smuggling. Rosenthal said in a statement he was "very concerned" about the fate of Sahra Bahrami after her daughter told a Dutch Radio Station Wednesday her mother was handed the death sentence. Bahrami has been jailed in Iran since December 2009. Dutch Diplomats have been denied access to her b...

Holland: Park blaze casts toxic cloud over Rotterdam
A HUGE fire broke out at an industrial park near Rotterdam yesterday, setting off chemical Explosions, releasing toxic smoke and disrupting shipping between the Netherlands' second-biggest city and Antwerp in Belgium. The fire started at a Chemie-Pack Chemical Plant in the Moerdijk industrial zone, about 30 miles south of Rotterdam. The cause of the blaze was unknown and police said there were no reports of any casualties. However, shipping traffic at the Holla ADVERTISEMENT nds Diep river, cl...

1 killed in explosion at French chemical plant
Authorities say an Explosion at a chlorine plant in southern France has killed one person and injured another. The regional administration for the Bouches-du-Rhone region says a leak of water containing sodium prompted the explosion. The blast occurred Thursday at a plant run by Gazechim in the Mediterranean port of Lavera. The administration says in a statement that no gases have leaked outside the site. Traffic around the site has been restricted, and specialists in chemical accidents are ther...

"Explosive" Debates Expected on House Homeland Security Committee
     Terrorist Threats targeting chemical facilities in densely populated urban areas remain a serious threat to U.S. security.      If newly appointed Chair to the House Committee on Homeland Security, Representative Peter King, (R-N.Y.), has his way, Legislation regarding this grave threat will move in the opposite direction from the last congressional session.      The last session of Congress saw the House Democratic majority advoca...

The Daily News will save your job -- as long as you make a sugary, tasty, high-calorie middle-class consumer treat
I've been flipping through this morning's Daily News -- looking for my paper's crusade to save the jobs of dozens of salt-of-the-earth Philadelphians about to lose their jobs in this era of 10 percent Unemployment, when people without a highly specialized high-tech or knowledge-based skill, or of a certain age (i.e., over 50) may never be able to work ever again. I know some of these folks who work at my nearby Acme -- one of five Acme Supermarkets about to shut down. So it's a minor inconveni...

1 killed in Tennessee munitions blast
OAKLAND, Tenn., Jan. 5 (UPI) -- An explosion and fire at a munitions plant in Oakland, Tenn., Wednesday afternoon killed one employee, officials said. The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal said the 34-year-old worker was one of five employees in the Kinematics Research facility when the blast occurred about 1:45 p.m. CST. The four others escaped without being injured. Ed Gaugh of the Fayette County Emergency Management Agency said bullets were "popping like Popcorn" when Firefighters arrived. "It made...

Town's fire pact offer rejected
CHAMPION — "From what I can tell they don't give a rat's butt about us." That's how Champion volunteer Firefighter David M. Williams expressed his feelings about the Town Council on Wednesday night after the department unanimously rejected the limited-protection fire contract offered by the town. The rejection could lead to the dissolution of the department if the two groups cannot come to a Compromise. According to Champion Fire Chief Louis J. Waite, the contract returned to...

Laid-off Gary firefighter panhandles on street
Laid-off Gary Firefighter Jason Pickering begging for money. (WGN-TV) A Gary Firefighter Laid Off in a city cash crunch just before the new year is now panhandling on the street in an effort to make ends meet. "We took an oath to save people's lives ... and the city just threw us to the curb," Jason Pickering told WGN-TV. Pickering, a 10-year department Veteran and one of 34 Gary firefighters who lost their jobs, now goes out begging, dressed in his firefighting gear, collecting dollar bills i...

4 Central Falls firefighters to be sworn in
The four men — John J. Garvey, 27, of West Warwick; Michael Grenga, 23, of Smithfield; Richard Haskins, 24, of Warren, and Brian Pettigrew, 28, of Warwick — will be sworn in by acting Public Safety director Stephen Bannon, a Rhode Island State Police major. With the addition of the new members, there will be 41 Firefighters on the force, all men. The public is welcome to attend the swearing-in ceremony. ...

Contractor in Deutsche tragedy hid OT scheme, probe finds
A contractor that avoided Criminal Charges in the Deutsche Bank building fire inflated bills on more than 100 city projects over the past decade, investigators charged Wednesday. Bovis Lend Lease billed Taxpayers for bogus overtime on projects between 1999 and 2009, the city Department of Investigation found. Bovis settled the charges by writing thecity a $5 million check. The company said it made the payment "without admitting liability." The settlement comes after the Daily News revealed in ...

N. Providence woman hospitalized after fire
A North Providence woman was listed in critical condition at Fatima Hospital Tuesday after fire swept though her two-story home in North Providence. Pasqualina Archilla, 51, was in critical condition at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, according to a spokesperson for the hospital. Archilla, who was home alone at the time, has rheumatoid arthritis and uses a Wheelchair because she can barely walk, according to her son Joey Archilla. Battalion Chief Edward Digiulio said Archilla was rescued by a pa...

Wynn Sulfuric Acid Spill Injures Visitor, Closes Part Of Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas — A hotel visitor was injured and a stretch of the Las Vegas Strip was shut down for more than two hours Thursday after a caustic acid leaked outside the Wynn resort, authorities said. The visitor slipped and fell in a puddle of sulfuric acid after about 200 gallons leaked when a pipe broke during delivery just after 8 a.m., Clark County spokeswoman Stacey Welling said. Paramedics treated the man and he was taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in stable condition, Welling s...

1 Killed In Blast At Tennessee Ammunition Plant
A series of Explosions ripped through an ammunition plant in Oakland, Tenn., on Wednesday, killing one worker and injuring a Firefighter while shells fired off for about an hour afterward. Ed Gaugh, emergency management director for Fayette County, said a 34-year-old male employee died in the blast and subsequent fire at the Kinematics Research plant, which makes shells for pistols and rifles. The worker's name was not immediately released. Oakland Police Chief Rick Jewell said at one point a la...

Officials Investigate Rahway Blaze Wednesday
RAHWAY, N.J. (CBS 2) - Firefighters remain on site of the condo complex that was heavily damaged by fire in Rahway, making sure it doesn’t re-ignite, while fire investigators try to figure out what sparked the inferno. The flames broke out Tuesday morning around 1:30 a.m. More than 100 firefighters from 13 towns spent the morning fighting the massive fire. The 100 unit Brookside complex on Route 27 was still under construction and no one was inside. One firefighter was treated for a ...

Crews battle 'substantial' house fire in Weymouth
BOSTON — Firefighters are on the scene at a two-alarm house fire in Weymouth. WCVB-TV reports that the fire on Sawyer Road is "substantial" but says it isn’t clear what caused the blaze or if there are any injuries. Some roads are reportedly closed in the area. WHDH-TV is reporting that one firefighter has been taken to a Hospital. No other details are available. ...

Deer Stranded On Floating Ice Rescued By Polish Firefighters
Warsaw, Poland (AP) — Polish Firefighters dodged treacherous sheets of ice in a risky after-dark rescue of a terrified deer stranded on a floe in the Baltic Sea, a spokesman said Wednesday. The rescue team faced serious hazards navigating among the sharp ice sheets but managed to save the drifting animal at the "last moment" after dark on Tuesday, Waldemar Bogatko told TVN24. TV footage showed the team of four steering through the plates by boat and using flashlights to find the deer, wr...

Firefighters Still Rescue Cats. Here's Proof.
This is not quite a kitten stuck in a tree, but it’s pretty close: a cat was stuck inside the walls of Assemblyman Joseph Lentol’s office in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, yesterday, mewling piteously. Firefighters were summoned from the Italian deli across the street where they were buying lunch, broke out the pry tools, opened up a basement wall, baited the hole with food, and voila. Read about the kitty rescue on The Local » ...

Poland: Firefighters go with the floe to save deer
Polish Firefighters dodged sheets of ice in a daring after-dark rescue of a terrified deer stranded on a floe in the Baltic Sea, a spokesman said yesterday. The rescue team faced serious hazards navigating the sharp ice sheets but managed to save the animal at the "last moment", Waldemar Bogatko said. TV footage showed the team of four steering through the plates by boat and using flashlights to find the deer, wrap it in a blanket and carry it to shore. ...