1988 Poole explosion
{{Short description|Large fire and explosion in Poole, England}}
{{Primary sources|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox event|title=1988 Poole explosion|image=Poole , West Quay Road - geograph.org.uk - 1771008.jpg|image_upright=|image_alt=|caption=The RNLI building on West Quay Road on the right stands where the factory once stood.|date={{start date|1988|06|21|df=y}}|time={{circa|18:30}} GMT|timezone=UTC±0|location=West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset, England|coordinates={{Coord|50|42|59.7|N|1|59|19.2|W|display=inline,title}}|also_known_as=|type=Chemical Explosion|cause=|outcome=|injuries=14|reported property damage=|burial=|displaced=|inquest=|coroner=|arrests=|suspects=|accused=|convicted=|charges=|trial=|verdict=|convictions=|sentence=|litigation=|deaths=0}}On 21 June 1988, a large fire and explosion engulfed the BDH chemical plant in Poole, Dorset, England.{{Cite web |title=The BDH Fire 1988 {{!}} BDH {{!}} West Quay {{!}} Poole Museum |url=http://www.pooletrail.com/en/page/5302 |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=www.pooletrail.com}} 3,500 people were evacuated out of the town centre in the biggest peacetime evacuation in the UK since World War II.{{Cite book |last1=Parker |first1=Dennis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OE9KIqGpp-UC&dq=BDH+fire+in+Poole%2C+1988&pg=PA31 |title=Hazard Management and Emergency Planning: Perspectives in Britain |last2=Handmer |first2=John |date=2013-06-17 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-25314-2 |language=en}} Despite the intensity of the explosion, nobody was killed or seriously injured.{{Cite web |title=3. Peacetime emergency planning in Britain – A County Emergency Planning Officers' Society view - Hazard Management and Emergency Planning [Book] |url=https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/hazard-management-and/9781873936061/010_9781315073606_chapter3.html |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=www.oreilly.com |language=en}}
Background
British Drug Houses had operated in Poole for 40 years.{{Cite web |title=GALLERY: The explosions that rocked Poole - 30 years since the BDH fire |url=https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/16318155.bdh-fire-poole-1988/ |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=Bournemouth Echo |language=en}} The plant at West Quay Road was constructed in 1982.{{Cite web |title=Industrial Chemical Premises (Hansard, 1 November 1988) |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1988/nov/01/industrial-chemical-premises |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=api.parliament.uk}}
Events
File:Poole, The Queen Mary - geograph.org.uk - 2034549.jpg
At about 7:30 pm emergency services were called to a fire at an industrial unit on West Quay Road in Poole. The warehouse was operated by BDH and stood adjacent to the Port of Poole, and close to residential and commercial areas in Old Poole.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2016-08-08 |title=Ambulance Service Response during the BDH fire 1988 |url=https://pooleshealthrecord.wordpress.com/2016/08/08/ambulance-service-response-during-the-bdh-fire-1988/ |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=Poole's Health Record |language=en}} The fire was discovered in an oxidising storeroom, and it had spread to the adjacent area containing flammable liquids.{{Cite web |title=Poole chemical explosion · British Universities Film & Video Council |url=http://bufvc.ac.uk/tvandradio/lbc/index.php/segment/0005400249014 |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=bufvc.ac.uk}}
There were flames up to {{Convert|100|ft|abbr=on}} high and flaming drums full of liquids were sent into the air and rained down on neighbouring streets.{{Cite journal |last1=Tyldesley |first1=A. |last2=Rew |first2=P. J. |last3=Houlding |first3=R. C. |date=2004-09-01 |title=Benefits of Fire Compartmentation in Chemical Warehouses |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0957582004711842 |journal=Process Safety and Environmental Protection |language=en |volume=82 |issue=5 |pages=331–340 |doi=10.1205/psep.82.5.331.44195 |issn=0957-5820}} Missiles from the fire spread {{Convert|50|m|abbr=on|round=50}}, and there was off site damage to {{Convert|100|m|abbr=on|round=50}} away.{{Cite web |title=Chemical warehousing « Tyldesley Explosion Consultancy Ltd |url=http://explosionconsultancy.co.uk/chemical-warehousing/ |access-date=2022-03-29 |language=en-US}} A fireball was witnessed and a plume of yellow-brown smoke was seen rising over Poole Old Town.{{Cite web |title=GALLERY: The explosions that rocked Poole - 30 years since the BDH fire |url=https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/16318155.bdh-fire-poole-1988/ |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=Bournemouth Echo |language=en}}
An evacuation began at 7.45pm, affecting a one square mile radius in Poole Town Centre. Nearby tower blocks were emptied, and terraced streets were searched. People were sent to the Arts Centre, Sports Centre and the Arndale Centre (now Dolphin Shopping Centre). The evacuation was organised by Station Manager Gordon Hughes. In November 1988, he became only the 2nd recipient of the Chief Officer's Commendation. 100 firefighters attended the scene.{{Cite web |date=2018-06-28 |title=GALLERY: The explosions that rocked Poole - 30 years since the BDH fire |url=https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/16318155.bdh-fire-poole-1988/ |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=Bournemouth Echo |language=en}}
File:Poole Old Town, West Street - geograph.org.uk - 3416102.jpg
14 people were taken to Poole General Hospital. Local residents were not allowed to return to their homes until 5.30 am the next day. The Health and Safety Executive, on the scene that morning, said the devastation would make an investigation of the cause virtually impossible. Street furniture and traffic lights had melted and windows were smashed. The smoke was analysed to have contained hydrogen chloride. Pollution of watercourses, including Poole Harbour, was also of concern. Authorities said that luck had kept the injuries minor, as barrels containing cyanide did not explode and the wind blew the toxic smoke offshore.{{Citation |title=BDH Fire Poole Dorset 21 June 1988 (TV-am news footage) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9ybEGWgpNE |language=en |access-date=2022-03-29}}
Investigation
Member of Parliament for Poole John Ward asked the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Employment Patrick Nicholls to set up a public inquiry into the incident. The minister confirmed that the Health and Safety Executive would carry out a full investigation into the cause of the fire.{{Cite web |title=BDH Chemicals Ltd. (Hansard, 15 July 1988) |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1988/jul/15/bdh-chemicals-ltd |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=api.parliament.uk}} The results of the investigation were published and publicised at a press conference held on 17 October 1988. The minister also confirmed that the BDH facilities at West Quay Road had been inspected 15 times between 1979 and 1988.{{Cite web |title=British Drug Houses (Hansard, 21 March 1989) |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1989/mar/21/british-drug-houses |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=api.parliament.uk}}
Legacy
File:RNLI works building, Poole - geograph.org.uk - 2740530.jpg
In 1997, BDH closed the West Quay Road plant and half of their local workforce were made redundant. The factory was pulled down and the land is now occupied by Poole Lifeboat Station, other buildings making up the Royal National Lifeboat Institution headquarters, and the Lifeboat College which opened in 2004.{{Cite web |last=rnliproject |date=2019-05-18 |title=Poole RNLI buildings. |url=https://peoplesexperiencesofthernli.home.blog/2019/05/18/poole-rnli-buildings/ |access-date=2022-03-30 |website=Experiences of Poole RNLI. |language=en}}