Gulf Refinery Fire

In the early hours of August 17, 1975, a tragic disaster occurred on the Gulf Oil refinery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This horrific disaster took the lives of eight firefighters, and potentially could have taken more lives if it wasn’t for the help of many surrounding fire stations. The cause of the fire was the overfilling of Tank 231. While no crude oil escaped from the tank as a result of being overfilled, large quantities of hydrocarbon vapors were trapped above the surface of the tank’s crude oil. As the quantity of crude oil increased, these hydrocarbon vapors were forced out of the tank’s vents and into the area of the No. Boiler House where the initial flash occurred. The overfilling of the tank resulted from a failure of the tanker’s personnel to properly monitor the quantity of crude oil being pumped to the tank. This whole disaster could have been avoided by just double checking the amount of crude oil in Tank 231. At 12:45 a. m. on the morning of Sunday, August 17, 1975, the tanker â€Å"M/T Afran Neptune,† tied up at a Gulf Refinery dock, began pumping reconstituted Venezuelan crude oil with additional 5 percent naphtha into Gulf Refinery Tank No. 31. Tank No. 231, built in 1929, of riveted seam construction, had a capacity of 75,000 barrels and had recently been renovated with an internal floating roof. Within the refinery, the tank was located at Avenue â€Å"Y† and 4th Street. Located just west of Tank No. 231 was Boiler House No. 4, the site of a four-alarm fire on April 22, 1967. A brick chimney arose from Boiler House No. 4 and this stack was a familiar sight to westbound motorists on the Penrose Avenue Bridge as th e word â€Å"GULF† was painted in large, white letters. Hydrocarbon vapors, emanating from Tank 231, accumulated in the area of the boiler house and were ignited by an unknown ignition source. A flame front followed the vapors back to Tank 231 causing fire at the tank’s vents and an explosion within the outer shell of the stack. These events began to unfold at 5:57 a. m. Shortly thereafter, a second explosion occurred within Tank 231. Burning petroleum spilled from the tank’s vents into a diked area surrounding the tank. Within the diked area a second tank, No. 114, just north of Tank 231, containing No. 6 grade fuel oil, also ignited as pipelines within the diked area began to fail. The initial explosion also damaged the pipe manifold outside of the dike wall and petroleum pouring out under pressure ignited. At 6:04 a. m. , upon receiving the report of fire from the Gulf Refinery, the Philadelphia Fire Department transmitted the refinery’s fire alarm box: Box 5988, Penrose and Lanier Avenues. Upon leaving their station, Engine 60 could see fire and smoke conditions at a distance, and before arriving at the refinery, Engine 60 ordered the second alarm at 6:09 a. m. First arriving companies had large clouds of heavy black smoke emanating from Tank No. 31, fire on top of Tank No. 114, and fire showing from the 150-foot stack at Boiler House No. 4. The third and fourth alarms were ordered in quick succession by Battalion Chief 1, Arthur Foley, at 6:11 a. m. and 6:14 a. m. Acting Assistant Fire Chief Dalmon Edmunds ordered the fifth alarm at 6:34 a. m. The sixth alarm was ordered by Fire Commissioner Joseph Rizzo at 6:52 a. m. Over the next several hours, fire fighters utilized deluge guns and master streams to cool down surrounding exposures, and applied foam directly to the burning tanks and piping in an effort to extinguish the fire. By 8:44 a. m. it appeared that the fire was well contained and the situation sufficiently stabilized to declare the fire under control. As the firefighting operation progressed, it became apparent that the refinery’s sewerage system was not up to the task of properly draining the foam, water and petroleum-naphtha product mixture that was accumulating on the ground along Avenue â€Å"Y,† between 4th Street and 5th Street to the east, running in front of the refinery’s administration building. These drainage problems were further exacerbated by a decision by refinery personnel to shutoff drainage pumps. Three members were attending to the apparatus and wading in the foam-water-petroleum mixture which was accumulating on the ground. Commissioner Rizzo and Gulf Refinery manager Jack Burk were on an overhead catwalk nearby observing the fire fighting operation. Without warning the accumulating liquid surrounding Engine 133 ignited, immediately trapping the three firefighters working at Engine 133. Instinctively and without hesitation other nearby firefighters dove into the burning liquid to rescue their comrades, not aware of the danger to themselves. Five more firefighters would be consumed by the advancing fire. The flames just engulfed them,† said Commissioner Joseph Rizzo, describing how he escaped the first of dozens of explosions but looked back to see three of his men sealed in flames. â€Å"They were trying to get under the foam, but to no avail,† he said. â€Å"They were human torches. † The fire quickly spread eastward along Avenue â€Å"Y† towards 5th Street. Viewing the unfolding horror before him, Commissioner Rizzo ordered two more alarms, five additional rescue squads, and the recall of all companies which had previously been released from the fire grounds throughout the day. On these orders the fire alarm room transmitted the seventh and eighth alarms. As the fire had been placed under control nearly eight hours earlier, firefighters in stations across the city knew that the unthinkable had occurred as these additional alarms were struck. At 4:46 p. m. Commissioner Rizzo ordered the ninth alarm and notification of Philadelphia Managing Director Hillel Levinson as a major disaster was now unfolding at the Gulf Refinery. As the fire swept rapidly eastward along 5th Street, Philadelphia’s foam pumpers, Engines 160 and 133, and the Gulf Refinery foam pumper, were rapidly destroyed in the fire’s advance. At 5th Street, where Engines 16 and 40 had been assigned to improve drainage, their pieces were also destroyed in the fire’s path, although their pump operators were able to escape. Upon reaching 5th Street, the fire traveled two city blocks north along 5th Street, now threatening four additional storage tanks and the 125-foot Penrose Avenue Bridge. At 5:37 p. m. , Commissioner Rizzo ordered the tenth alarm as the fire was now traveling southward and engulfing the refinery’s administration building, which was located on the south side of Avenue â€Å"Y† between 4th and 5th Streets. The tenth alarm companies were ordered to report to Gate 24 at Penrose and Lanier Avenues, to set up deluge guns and leave the area. As the situation continued to deteriorate at the Gulf Refinery, Commissioner Rizzo ordered the 11th alarm. By seven o’clock, the involved tanks and pipelines were gushing flames and nearby streets in the complex were burning streams of oil and other petroleum products. The courageous men of the Philadelphia Fire Department kept with the fire, retaking 5th Street, 4th Street, and finally Avenue â€Å"Y. † At 1:00 a. m. Commissioner Rizzo left the fire grounds to visit the injured firefighters in the hospital. Rizzo then gave command to Deputy Fire Commissioner Harry T. Kite who placed the fire under control at 5:38 a. m. on Monday, August 18, 1975. The tragedy that occurred on the hot august day in 1975 could have been avoided all together if the refinery personnel in charge of Tank 231 simply monitored the amount of crude oil being pumped into the tank. Mistakes do happen, but unfortunately this mistake took the lives of eight firefighters. As of now we can only take th is disaster into consideration and make sure this doesn’t ever happen again in the future. In remembrance of the firefighters who perished in the blaze: John Andrews, 49, Engine 49.

Charge of the Light Brigade

How far do Sources 1 and 2 challenge the impression of the Charge of the Light Brigade given in Source 3? The Charge of the Light Brigade was started by an order given by Lord Raglan to charge. It last half an hour and 113 men were killed. Source 3 is a ‘recalling’ of the brutality of the Charge of the Light Brigade. It shows the perspective of someone watching the battle rather than taking part so is therefore limited. Although, it is still useful as is written by a witness who saw it happen at the time of the event. There are various features of source 1 and 2 that challenge source 3’s impression of the Charge of the Light Brigade. For example, source 1 portrays the appearance of only Russian soldiers and of the English look triumphant. Whereas source 3 states ‘our men tried to drag their mangled bodies’ giving the impression that many were badly injured. Source 2 challenges source 3 by saying ‘right thro’ the line they broke’ this gives the impression the English troops managed to get onto Russian ground and shows them as more successful than stated in source. In addition source 2 agrees with source 1 in this sense as can be seen in the picture, the English soldiers have reached the Russians and the Russians are made to look weak. Source 2 however is limited as is written as a poem, so may be dramatized to add effect and make to it more interesting to read. Also the information included in the poem was written on the Isle of Weight after hearing Russell’s report so is very limited. Despite the various things that challenge source 3 in source 2 and 1 there are also many things that agree with it. When looking at the cartoon in source 1 it appears to disagree with source 3, however looking at the provenance may change this opinion. It was published in the magazine ‘Punch’ which was a teasing and dramatizing newspaper. It was also only one month after the Charge of the Light Brigade and everyone knew how badly the English had performed. It appears to pick fun at Lord Cardigan and blame him for the loss that day. Source 3 and 2 also agree that a lot of men were badly injured or killed that day. This is seen when source 2 states ‘Then they rode back, but not not this six hundred’ the emphasis on the not shows that nowhere near six hundred of them rode back. In source 3 this is shown when Sergeant-Major Timothy Gowing states ‘but few escaped. ’ Source 2 agrees with source 3 when it states the soldiers were ‘shatter’d and sunder’d. ’ This coincides with the image of the soldiers having to ‘drag their mangled bodies’ the word drag shows exhaustion and that they used every last bit of energy to try and escape the battle field. In conclusion, source 1 and 2 mainly agree with the image of the Charge of the Light Brigade portrayed in source 3. Source 1 is making fun of Lord Cardigan and how terribly wrong the whole situation went so is a lot less serious than the other 2 sources. They all however give the image of the battle being a bloody, ‘brutal’ one in which many lives were lost. Source 3 was written 41 years after this shows the charge still has an impact years later and people still do not know the full truth.

Compare and contrast the tradional marker and new marker of liver Essay

Compare and contrast the tradional marker and new marker of liver fibrosis - Essay Example But is is fraught with several disadvantages and recent novel methods claim to overcome the disadvantages associated with liver biopsy. In this research article, both traditional and novel methods of liver biopsy evaluation are discussed. Novel assessment strategies include serological assays, imaging methods and genetic studies. There are 2 types of biochemical markers and they are direct and indirect. Direct markers evaluate for fibrolysis and fibrogenesis. There is evidence to show that there does exists a good correlation between different biochemical markers, suggesting the fact that they investigate similar process. While the role of biochemical markers are studied and many researchers have opined that they are better than liver biopsy, currently liver biopsy still enjoys the first line investigation method for diagnosis and staging of liver fibrosis. Imaging studies and genetic studies are also considered useful, but in research stage. Excessive accumulation of various extrace llular matrix proteins like collagen is known as liver fibrosis. The condition arises because of chronic damage to the liver due to one or more causes like chronic hepatitis C infection, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and alcohol abuse. It has the potential to progress to advanced liver conditions like liver failure, cirrhosis and portal hypertension, requiring liver transplantation (Bataller and Brenner, 2005). As of now, there is no standard treatment for liver fibrosis. Though some treatments have been found effective among rodents, they have not been practical to apply on humans because of the difficulties associated with performing serial biopsies to evaluate and ascertain the changes associated with treatment accurately and also because of the fact that humans are much less sensitive towards antifibrotic treatments when compared to rodents (Bataller and Brenner, 2005). Currently, the most effective treatment for liver biopsy appears to be removal of the offending agent and the only curative approach for those with cirrhosis and complications is liver transplantation which improves not only the quality of life, but also the survival (Bataller and Brenner, 2005). Management of liver fibrosis is mainly based on the accuracy of the degree of liver fibrosis. Those with chronic liver disease need to be frequently evaluated for detection of liver fibrosis in early stages. Traditionally, liver biopsy was considered to be the "gold standard" test for ascertaining and evaluation liver biopsy. However, this test is fraught with several limitations and risks because of the invasive nature of the procedure. Recent investigations like biochemical tests, liver magnetic resonance imaging and genetic evaluation are non-invasive and overcome the disadvantages of liver biopsy. However, some experts continue to employ liver biopsy for evaluation of liver biopsy arguing that it is a more accurate assessment strategy. In this research article, both traditional and modern metho ds of liver fibrosis evaluation will be compared and discussed through review of suitable literature. A brief overview of the pathogenesis of the disease will be

Developing an effective classroom management plan Essay

Developing an effective classroom management plan - Essay Example A positive learning environment can only be created when this philosophy is kept in mind. At the basic level, a classroom simply comprises of a teacher and a group of students. However, a classroom cannot exist in isolation; it comes under the control of a school. Similarly, a school is also required to report to district authorities. Hence, there are multiple stakeholders acting together in this case and each has their own role to play. The role of each of these should be defined in way which maximizes the exchange of knowledge, and creates and maintains the learning environment. Moreover, these roles should also be used as the rules in effectively maintaining a positive learning environment in a K-12 classroom. Let us consider the roles and responsibilities for each of the members one by one. Teachers play the central role in a classroom. A teacher is the one who controls the entire class and it is his skills and capabilities which play a vital role in the learning environment of the class. In some cases, the teacher is the primary source of knowledge who communicates this knowledge to the students. In some cases, the teacher is merely a facilitator who assists the students in acquiring knowledge from textbooks. However, in any case, the role of teacher is indispensible. The role of the teacher should be defined in a way that he is able to effectively communicate with the students and interact with them. It should not be a merely one-sided communication, but the students should respond back. Hence, it is important that the teacher thoroughly knows what he is teaching. He should know all aspects of the topic and should be ready to answer any questions from the students relevant to the topic. Another important role of a teacher is to reward the students for their good perf ormance and punish the students for poor performance. This serves to improve the motivation of students towards the class. Moreover, he should make use of the tools and equipments, such

Communication theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Communication theory - Essay Example With clearer concepts and objective understanding of matters, people are in a better position to play their individualistic and collective roles in the development of a civilized society. In most of the organizations in the contemporary age, communication with confidence and authority has become quite critical (Holmes, 2011). The organization in which I work is to much extent, a functional organization where different departments have well defined responsibilities, so people from different departments do not usually interact with one another. In addition to the organization having a functional organization structure, there were several other factors that have played their role in discouraging interaction among employees. Such factors included but were not limited to differences of gender, age and culture. Employees from different culture have had presumed conceptions about their coworkers from different cultures and would not change their conceptions in the organizational context. Al so, employees from opposite genders would hesitate to communicate with one another. This was giving rise to interpersonal conflicts with various employees assuming irrational things about one another as a result of lack of communication until the new project manager brought about some drastic changes in the system of flow of communication within the organization.

XBUS KJ Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

XBUS KJ - Assignment Example According to Byloos (2011), the disagreement that arises between employers and employees is that most employers believe undocumented workers should not be accorded equal employment rights as U.S citizens since their being in the U.S is itself illegal and if they are protected by this law then it will be a violation of the country’s immigration laws. engaging in intentional discrimination of workers. According to the law, it is unlawful to discriminate individuals on the basis of their birthplace, ethnic group and ancestral culture. The purpose of this law is to prohibit employers from discriminating on employees since they cannot speak English or because they come from a certain country (Labor Employment Law Forum, 2012). Title VII requires that employees not be denied their employment rights since the law requires that any individual should not be discriminated in any aspect of employment. Whether an employee is a naturalized citizen of the United States or not they are supposed to be protected by Title VII against discrimination at the work place if they are legal aliens. Even though, Title VII of the civil rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of color, ethnicity, country or origin, sex, and religion, it is apparent from recent Court of Appeal rulings that undocumented workers are not protected by this law. For instance, the court of appeal seventh circuit ruled in Cortezano v. Salin Bank & Trust Co that the employer was not in violation of Title VII when he terminated an employee based on their alien status (Labor Employment Law Forum, 2012). It should be clear that undocumented workers are not protected by this law since an employer has the right to terminate an employee based on his or her alien status. It is clear that when undocumented worker are protected by Title VII, it will bring a conflict since this will mean the nation’s immigration laws will be violated. 2. Who do you think has the stronger argument - employer or

Raymond Kelly Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Raymond Kelly - Essay Example If he wins the race, he should quit the NYPD. This is because if he wins, he should focus his attention on his new position instead of distributing his attention which would disturb his focus. It will create hindrances for him in giving equal time to both posts and may make him exhausted. Additionally, he may not be able to exhibit fairness and make an equitable distribution of time for both posts which depict great responsibility. If however, he does not get selected, then he may continue to work in the NYPD which is his actual job and source of fame and popularity. People have mixed opinions about his future in the New York Mayoral Race. However I believe that his actions to remain in the NYPD should depend upon the result of his elections. The posts of a Mayor as well as Police Commissioner are both important and put great responsibility on the candidates appointed. A Mayor has to sort important matters in a state and hence it is a very demanding job. In a similar manner, a Police Commissioner manages crime as well as maintains peace in a state. Considering the nature of these jobs, it is essential the candidates should provide for undivided attention. Thus, if appointed as a Mayor, Raymond Kelly should quit the post of NYC Police Commissioner. Lauinger, J. (2012, May). â€Å"Ray Kelly loses head-to-head matchup for mayor to Christine Quinn,  Bill Thompson and Bill de Blasio in new Quinnipiac poll.†New York Daily News. Retrieved from: