Massive Explosion Caused by Electrical Fault

[Faline]

Firefighters have released astonishing footage of a massive explosion which destroyed a row of houses - just seconds after residents had been evacuated.
The blast, which happened just yards from a group of firemen, was caused by an electrical fault resulting from the theft of copper wire.
One resident called the fire service to the scene in Castleford, West Yorkshire, after a small kitchen fire started up. When firefighters noticed similar fires in neighbouring houses, they started evacuating the row of six terraced homes.

Just in time: Firemen had just finished evacuating residents...

..when a terrifying fireball ripped through the row of houses

Seconds after they had finished getting the 30 residents to safety, an explosion tore through the houses, demolishing two and damaging the other four.
The footage, captured by a camera fixed to fire engine, shows how terrifyingly close the firemen were to the centre of the blast, but luckily no-one was hurt.

According to the fire service, the explosion was caused by thieves cutting copper cable from an overhead line, which affected the earthing of the area's electrical network.
The unusual electrical activity affected nearby gas pipes, which led to the fires and the explosion.

Explosion: A second camera captures the moment the blast started:

A spokesman for the West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said: 'If the house had exploded only seconds earlier, there is no doubt in my mind that it would have killed or seriously injured the occupants and the firefighters who were risking their lives to rescue them. We can’t stress enough how devastating this could have been.
'Instead, they lost their homes and possessions rather than their lives. If people continue to tamper with equipment on the electricity network, it is only a matter of time before more people die.'
A local man has now been arrested on suspicion of stealing the cable.

The scene was chaotic as debris flew around the street:

The incident is only the latest in a spate of thefts in which metal wire and other objects are stolen and sold on as scrap.
Last month a couple in Plymouth woke up to the smell of gas, after thieves stole the copper piping which carried their gas supply.
An Asda supermarket in Essex had 800 trolleys taken over a two-week period, a loss worth £64,000 - though the metal will fetch much less than that on the black market.
And lead was stolen from the roof of David Cameron's parish church, just one of many to have suffered from this type of theft.
The problem has been caused by the current high price of metals - the price of copper has trebled since 2009, while lead and aluminium now cost twice as much as they did then.
But these thefts are risky for the perpretators, as well as for their victims. Last week a 16-year-old boy was electrocuted, apparently trying to steal copper cable from a disused power station in Leeds.
2010 saw a total of three fatalities and 31 serious injuries to criminals attempting to steal cable, and according to industry sources the number of these crimes this year looks set to double compared to last.

[Drumstickshredder]

Getting a bit fucked off with this kind of shit. Happens all the time where I live. Sub stations copper gas pipes the lot. As it happens we have a horse tethered over the road as we speak!

[Crystof]

lol before the first explosion you can see the door closing.

[Viking64]

Thieving scum.

[Faline]

Originally Posted by Crystof6

lol before the first explosion you can see the door closing.

Yeah i noticed, was like the force of the blast closing it

[Johndoe123]

wow! the fire got annoyed and slammed the door shut lol.

[Faline]

Update:

A fire service has released footage of a house in West Yorkshire exploding moments after residents were evacuated, in an attempt to warn copper thieves about the dangers of tampering with electricity and gas equipment.

No one was seriously hurt in the incident in Castleford because firefighters had just finished evacuating the whole terrace of properties when it was engulfed in flames.

The shots were taken by one of West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service's "silent witness" cameras attached to the top of fire appliances.

Crews were called to Rhodes Street in the town a week ago following reports of a small kitchen fire and found a string of small fires in the row of six terraced houses.

A spokesman for the service said around 30 people were evacuated, including two people from upstairs bedrooms using ladders. Moments later the explosion, which was caught on camera, tore through the houses.

Two homes were partly demolished and the four other houses suffered extensive fire and blast damage.

One firefighter was taken to hospital with minor cuts.

The spokesman said the blast was caused after cable was cut from an overhead line by copper thieves. This affected the earthing of the electrical network in the area and resulted in unusual electrical activity which affected some of the gas pipes within the properties.

The incident in Castleford last week affected the electricity supply to 63 properties and the gas supplies to 55 properties.

A 27-year-old man from the Castleford area was arrested on suspicion of the theft of cable and has been released on bail pending further inquiries.

[kellyhound]

prick shud get at least 5 years for this.