Letters

Congratulations

The following Chief Fire Officers received awards in the Queen's Birthday Honours List: Messrs. E. S. Calvert, Brighton, and H. F. Griffiths, Suffolk and Ipswich, the O.B.E.; Mr. D. J. Davies, Merthyr Tydfil, the M.B.E., and Messrs. W. Babbington, Kent, R. E. Cooper, Sunderland, and J. Stewart, Lanarkshire, the Queen's Fire Service Medal for Distinguished Service.

Secretary's Notes

A copy of the Association's Codes of Practice re: Principles of Construction and form of Petroleum Storage Licence, are included free with this copy of The Bulletin to all members of the Association. Additional copies may be obtained from L. A. Cave, Hon. Secretary, A.P.A.A., 34 Blackacre Road, Dudley, Worcestershire, at a cost of 5/- net.

Change of Address. The new address of the Editor of The Bulletin is: R. P. Holdaway, Weights and Measures Department, 2 Claremont Buildings, Claremont Bank, Shrewsbury, SaJop. Telephone Shrewsbury 55813/4.

Serious fire situation involves discharging petrol tanker

A serious fire situation developed while a 4,000 gallon tanker was discharging petrol into underground storage tanks containing thousands of gallons at a filling station at Ponsanooth on the A.38 between Falmouth and Redruth. It is b~lieved the petrol vapour was ignited by ·paraffin-burning road-warning lamps which were close by.

At the incident it was found that the petrol tanker was seriously involved in fire burning on top of the rear five tanks, rear wheels, and from the outlet manifolds on the near side of the vehicle. The fire started while it was discharging into underground tanks.

It was a windless night and the tanker was positioned in a natural trap for petroleum vapours between a high earth wall and the adjacent vehicle repair garage. In addition the petroleum installation had not been completed and excavations over the tops of certain tanks had not been completely filled.

On arrival of the first appliance a serious situation presented itself to the officer-in-charge as the tanker was burning fiercely and was positioned immediately over the storage tanks.

The nearest water supply was from a hydrant half a mile distant and the first attack was to put a foam carpet over the underground tanks using the water contained in the water tender. Fire Brigade Control had realised the situation before the arrival of any appliances and had ordered an additional water tender from Fa! mouth, which arrived just as the water supply from the first appliance was running out.

When the rrrst senior officer arrived, water tenders were made three and a shuttle service between the nearest hydrant was continued.

As soon as the fire burning on top of the tanks was exting·uished, the tanker driver and the Fire Brigade personnel endeavoured to close the foot valves, but these had failed, due to heat, and there was no way of stopping the petrol leaking and causing a running fire.

52

Petrol tanks in rail disaster at Johannesburg .Eig~teen people died and 158 were injured in a tragic rail. disaster on the outskirts of Johannesburg, So~th ~fnca, when two stationery petrol tankers each containmg ~,OOO gallons of. spirit, toppled on t; coaches of a passmg passenger tram. The impact ripped manhole covers off the tankers, petrol spilled out and the fumes ignited ~ith explo~ive violence. It is alleged that shunting ape.rations were m progress and by a misjudgment the shunting unit coll.ided with the pe~rol tankers, toppling them onto the passmg passenger tram.

Experimental oil-fired grass drier

The Faculty of Agriculture of the University of New~astle-u~on-Tyne has installed an oil-fired grass drier at its expenmental farm, Cockle Park. The drier, which was preser_ited by the B.P. Group, will be used to conduct b~th experimental and farm scale studies into the economics ?f feeding cattle and sheep with artificially dried grass mstead of the customary hay or silage.

The work of the Faculty on this subject had this year reached a s~age wher~ it ~ould no~ have progressed mu~h further u.nhl the Umvers1ty acquired its own grass d~1er for practical research. The drier is of Swiss Combi design and has been manufactured by Allmet of Leeds. The larger .AllmetfCombi machines are already well known, but this machme, known as the Mark II Mini, is the first of the range to be designed for farm-scale operations.

The experimental work will be under the direction of Professor McG. Cooper, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture~ and P~ofessor J. R. O'Callaghan, who holds ~he ~ha~r <;>f Agncultural Engineering. Professor Cooper said:

This. IS a really handsome gift that enables us to tackle a v.ery important problem on a comprehensive scale. I smcerely hope that we are able to justify the confidence that Shell-Mex & B.P. have placed in the University".

LATCHED NOZZLES

In the January edition of The Bulletin, on page .16, Mr. Anderson makes a comment that may be misleadmg to any who have considered the use of OPW latched automatic nozzles.

Mr. Anderson's belief is that only one type of latched nozzle, the ZVA, satisfactorily fulfils Sub-Paragraph (j) of the "Home Office Model Code of Principles of Construction and Licensing Conditions (Part 1) for the Storage of Cans, Drums and other Receptacles and Petrol Filling Stations", which states: