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A line of trucks caught fire at a Chesapeake Energy Corporation
drilling site in west Shreveport Friday, sending a dark plume of smoke
skyward and calling response from multiple fire departments.
The fire caused no injuries, no spills or environmental damage and
didn't threaten the Greenwood neighborhoods surrounding the site,
authorities said. All employees were accounted for by the time the blaze
was brought under control.
The fire started around 11:30 a.m. when a Cudd Energy Services truck
caught fire while working on the Lee 21H-1 natural gas well site near
the intersection of Greenwood Road and Rice Road, according to
Chesapeake Energy Media Coordinator Katie McCullin. The cause of the
fire is still under investigation.
The fire spread quickly to the adjacent trucks, and by the end of the
day, 10 18-wheelers were engulfed and destroyed. The trucks were
carrying hydraulic fracturing fluid, a mixture used in the final stages
of the drilling process, according to Shreveport Fire Department Chief
Safety Officer Scott Wolverton.
Wolverton said the fluid isn't combustible and didn't exacerbate the
conflagration. He said it was the diesel fuel and the vehicle cabs
themselves that were burning, the dark smoke coming from the big rigs'
fuel supply.
Shreveport Fire and Caddo Fire District 1, 3 and 4 responded to the
scene to battle the blaze.
The nearest hydrant was 3/4 of a mile away, Wolverton said, requiring
fire fighters to set up a "water shuttle system." Caddo Fire District
trucks shuttled water from the hydrant to a steel-framed pool, from
which the hoses drew water, near the blaze.
Fire fighters also positioned two unmanned monitors — devices capable of
deploying 1,200 gallons of water a minute without human assistance —
against the fire, Wolverton said. Men on the ground also used large
chemical fire extinguishers.
Wolverton said there was never any fear of fire exposure to sensitive
drilling operations of natural gas storage. He said the industrial-grade
fire was quickly contained to keep it from spreading.
"Any time you hear about something near a gas well, that sends some real
sense of urgency," Wolverton said. "The amount of dark smoke can make us
very concerned."
None of the nearby neighborhoods were evacuated, but several residents
reported hearing loud booms around the time the fire started. There were
no explosions reported, though, according to Chesapeake's Director of
Corporate Development Paul Pratt.
Dorothy Durden, of the 6800 block of Greenway Avenue, said she heard
three distinctive booms, which she said were likely the 18-wheelers'
tires exploding. She said she didn't feel threatened by what she
originally thought was a house fire, but said she'd never seen anything
like it in her 50 years in the neighborhood.
LaTonya Washington, of the 6700 block of Greenway Avenue, said she heard
similar booms but couldn't place what they were. She said she wasn't
sure what was going on until she saw the plumes of smoke |
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