Indian Oil Company Jaipur fuel terminal disaster so big no fire fighting system could put it out

First 18 of 18 paragraphs shown On Thursday 29 October 2009 at 7.37pm a fire broke out and within a short timeframe all 11 tanks caught fire. Indian Government officials said ‘there is no choice but to let the fire burn out’.
Earthquake trigger? There was an earthquake at 7.36pm (it is not sure if there was an earthquake or if explosions created a shock).
- The tank farm of the Indian Oil depot of Sitatpur in Jaipur (277km SSW of Dehli) can hold 100,000 kilolitres of petrol, diesel and kerosene in about 11 storage tanks and is located close to an airport and a highway. -
All 11 tanks caught fire: The fixed fire fighting system did not work properly and there were no back up systems.
Army not equipped: The Indian army is assisting the poorly equipped fire brigades. Indian Government officials announced that there is no choice but to let the fire burn out.
Hotel sounds alarm:
Around 6pm on Thursday the guests and staff of Hotel Ayush International, situated just 500 metres away from the depot, smelt the fuel. They were advised to vacate the hotel immediately.
- The Manager called the fire brigade, who had not received an alert from IOC about the fuel smell.
Indian Oil investigating: : Sources report a range of possibilities:
- There was a leak in a valve in a pipeline, which connected fuel tanks to distribution points.
- The pipeline was leaking after the daily routine of loading fuel into tankers.
- Other experts say the cause of the fire could be anything from a leak in the tanks to a short circuit.
- More than 17 hours after the fire broke out actual fire fighting was yet to begin.
- The 35 water-carrying fire tenders rushed to the site by the state government, would be ineffective in fighting the fire; they are used for cooling the area around the tanks.
- Five foam-carrying fire tenders were rushed from other IOC sites.
- Army and local government dug a ditch round the depot premises.
Atmospheric pollution was major health concern for residents in the area. People have started flooding into hospitals complaining of heaviness in the chest, sore throats, irritation in the eyes and skin said District Collector Kuldeep Ranka.
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