Reporters capture photos, video of explosions at Dallas gas facility

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/25/ire...las.explosion/



Justin Randall began to wonder if he had picked the wrong day to drive
his convertible through downtown Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday, as debris
rained down from an explosion at a facility that sells acetylene gas.
art.t1soft.ashok.irpt.jpg

I-Reporter Ashok Visuvasam captured photos of rising fireballs from an
explosion in Dallas, Texas.
more photos »

As he drove on Interstate 35E past the explosion at Southwest Industrial
Gases Inc., he used his cell phone to shoot I-Report video of the
fireballs and smoke rising in the distance. But he realized he had to
cut his citizen journalism efforts short when he saw metal debris in the
roadway.

Some pieces were larger than car bumpers, he said. He threw his phone
onto the seat beside him and stopped filming so he could dodge obstacles
in the road, all the while hoping that nothing would fall on him. He
decided against putting the top up, figuring the debris was so large, it
would make little difference. Besides, he didn't want to obscure his
view of the road.

Falling debris also shook Ashok Visuvasam, who said he was heading to
work and happened to have a good camera with him for an assignment that
day. He captured clear and dramatic photos of fireballs at the gas
facility, but he began to think it was too dangerous to remain in the
area when he saw a cylinder fall into the water 200 to 300 yards away.
Before he left, he tried to hurry others away from the area.

The blast also detoured David Saenz of Mesquite, Texas, who was
commuting west to his job in Fort Worth when he saw smoke rising. He was
approaching the "Canyon" and the "Mixmaster," two major traffic
bottlenecks in Dallas, and decided to exit Interstate 30 while he could.

The surface streets eventually sent him circling around Reunion Arena,
where Saenz said he got a better view of the flames and smoke. Ash and
debris fell on his truck. When he was near the Dallas County Courthouse,
he had to wait for a while and saw fire trucks head up and down the
streets. The scene was chaotic for motorists, Saenz said.

"I heard a lot of booms," he said. "A lot of explosions. Constantly.
Just a lot of smoke. A lot of mass confusion. Police everywhere. Police
everywhere."



http://www.kten.com/Global/story.asp?S=6841559
http://www.ohsonline.com/articles/49362/