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A truck caught fire earlier this morning at 12th and P Streets NW, eventually leading to a small explosion as the gas tank succumbed to the flames. The truck was a rambling pickup that, along with its bed full of scrap wood, has been a neighborhood fixture for years. The single bike cop on the scene kept onlookers from walking down P and waited for the fire department as the fire spread from beneath the hood to envelope the cab and front tires. Eventually, fire personnel and additional police arrived; as they were setting up the hose, the truck's gas tank exploded (previous exciting noises: the horn going off; the horn's pathetic death squeak; and a long, loud hissing).
The fire was still smoldering when I left, according to cops on the scene, but all visible flames had been extinguished. Police speculated that debris under the parked truck may have been ignited by residual engine heat.
Video of the gas tank explosion captured below!
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I'm always seeing junk trucks like this rolling around town and the suburbs. One in particular I remember seeing headed down 295: the truck bed was surrounded by 9-foot-tall plywood "walls" that were barely containing the crap within. There was literally junk and construction debris flying out the back of the truck. No net. No back door. Nothing. Of course the driver was oblivious and babbling on his cellphone. I assume there are some laws to regulate the amount of crap that's allowed to fly out of the back of your vehicle at 80MPH? Or are these as strictly enforced as the laws agains murder?
Great photos Tom, but. The first rule of photojournalism is to put yourself in danger of life and limb when taking photos. We should expect to see close-ups of the gas tank (I'm talking Macro Lens) and the flames should fill the frame.
Seeing you stationed within reach of the safety of the corner of the brick building takes something away from the story.
Should your reasoning be the police made you keep your distance can be answered with a quick "I'm a journalist god damn it! The story must be told."
This looks like the ending to the movie 'C.H.U.D.'.
When will Jim Graham propose some common-sense truck-explosion legislation? Like the "Protection from Exploding Trucks Act of 2009" wherein all trucks in DC must be retrofitted with an ear-shattering alarm system that blares every three-seconds when the truck is not exploding, to warn pedestrians that the truck might actually explode at some point.
I'm kind of amazed by the guy in the foreground, standing in the parking lane. He barely even flinched!
His diaper absorbed the impact.
I think it was the tire that exploded not the gas tank. I think there are 3 or four Mythbusters episodes in this one video, so did anyone see if the bumper flew off?
You may be right, RJ -- that thought occurred to me after the post went up. The voice you hear in the video is one of the police officers on the scene. He seemed to think it was the gas tank exploding, but having thought about it more it seems likely that the hissing I heard was the gas going up, and the bang was from a tire. Either way, it was by far the loudest and most exciting thing that happened during the course of the fire.
The man in the white shirt standing in the parking lane arrived with the fire department; I assume he's a supervisor or fire chief. And I agree: he was amazingly unfazed.
Best photo thread since the Great Back Alley Sex for Crack Exchange of Ought Seven. Well done, Tom!
Did the truck have breakfast at Ben's this morning?
there are a couple trucks like this in bloomingdale as well. can't wait for them to burst into flames.
and fenty wants to get rid of safety inspections?
wait a minute, did this thing have DC tags? makes me wonder...
Check the black smoke (vs. lots' o fire), direction of the blow and location of the "puff" - that's the front passenger tire blowing out, not the under-the-bed gas tank lighting up.
The gas tank usually doesn't "blow up" up blow up, it just burns...what *really* burns like a sumbitch is the upholstery.
It looks like one of the fuel lines coming in to the engine compartment crapped out; don't know what the ignition source would be. The traditional go-to is the catalytic converter.
Who ever towed it away dumped it on Calvert Ave in Alexandria by my office.