A welding supply company near Dallas has had multiple explosions, causing gridlock on I-35. My first thought, naturally, is terrorism--knee jerk reaction really. However, gas tanks exploded where they are normally stored. I would think a terrorist would set off an explosion near a more populated place. There's just not enough information to go on at this time.
Multiple Explosions and Fire at Welding Supply Company near Downtown Dallas
Update (10:33 am): The company is Southwest Industrial Gases, Inc. There were multiple explosions from propane tanks. The local news has some impressive video of the explosions. From what is being reported, emergency crews have quarantined the area and are just letting the fire burn itself out because it's too hot to get close.
Update (12:00 pm): I've received several calls and instant messages from people theorizing this is some sort of test for terrorists. It's possible. With all of the more recent news of terrorist probing security areas. The first thing is to determine if today's explosions were deliberate, but also keep in mind the world is full of people who destroy property for various reasons like insurance fraud. I wouldn't jump to conclusions until the facts are published or there are more incidents.
Update (4:00 pm): So far the explanation for the explosions is blamed on a faulty connection between gas cannisters.
The fire was caused by a malfunction in a device called a "pigtail" that created so much pressure in an acetylene cannister that it auto-ignited, Lavender said. Then that cannister heated up those next to it. He said he didn’t know how many cannisters were ignited.
“It’s almost like a sprinkler system," Lavender said. "One pigtail goes into the top of one acetylene tank and it goes into the next and just fills them up in a relay type of situation. But once you have one failure, then everything’s at risk.
"That’s what started the explosions. One right after the other.”
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