I’m tipping at Amazon Hemel Hempstead just now and it’s right next door to the Buncefield Oil Terminal which saw one of the largest emergency and fire brigade operations this country has ever seen. I was driving up North that day when the explosions happend and it went up in flames so I don’t know what it was like to be in or around the surrounding areas that day.
Is there any drivers on here who we’re actually on site when the first explosion happend just after 6? Did you get any warning what was about to happen? I bet it was carnage all around the motorway network in that area that day or for even some days after. Is there anyone on here from Hemel Hempstead who can remember that day? Was the town evacuated? I’ve read there was major damage to all sorts of buildings, the explosions measured 2.5 on the Richter scale and the explosions were felt up 125 mile away. I find it unbelivible that there were no fatalities.
I wouldn’t have posted this but being right next door to a place that had one of the biggest incidents happen in not just our history but maybe even Europe got me thinking back to the day.
I was living just outside Gloucester at the time, and it woke me up.
I was at the in laws in Hemel at the time and slept through it, first I knew of it was when I opened the curtains and saw the smoke and the obvious coverage on Sky News.
As far as I can remember the only disruption to the main town was that all the petrol stations shut and fuel was only available for the emergency services. Luckily at the time I was a serving military policeman so with that and a bit of sweet talk I managed to get fuel but my father in law had to drive into Berkshire just to fill up.
The following day we continued on our family duties across to Essex where the sky was eerily dark and their was a constant stream of fire engines from a variety of counties heading towards the scene to assist for the most of the following day. I was impressed with how such a major incident affected the local community so little, apart from those who lived immediately next too the incident.
I was back in Hemel this week and noticed some buildings that still showed heat damage that hasn’t been repaired simply because it didn’t need to be.
I will never forget the muppet car drivers on the M1 hardshoulder with their hazards going,bonnet up making out they were broken down,standing there openly taking pictures,one or two cars might have been genuine but I reckon around a dozen cars supposedly broke down in that spot over 4 or 5 days,morons
I live 8 miles away, I was drunk off my ■■■ 18ish years old, hungover as anything, didn’t even stir off the sofa!
The flat me and the missus bought had a hole about 3mm in diameter that was caused by the explosion, in the ceiling of the kitchen. No damage other than that at our place.
My Gran and Grandad live in Amersham and it woke them up.
I used to work with some of the hoyer boys from there. There was no warning it just went bang. One bloke sat in the office got some of the ceiling on his head another ■■■■ himself and was found hiding under an unloaded tanker. His mate ran back in and pulled him out. From what I was told the overflow alarms were turned off there was no warning. I was a fueller at luton airport at the time and we started getting fuel deliveries from kingsbury and esso west london. Various rumours circulated, one of being there was a huge vapour release and someone coming off nights at a firm next door, was texting his mrs, before iphones etc, and the pressing of keys created a spark which ignited the vapour…Other rumours a driver created a spark within the terminal…and various other rumours. Still suprises me that people smoke in the car while the partner fuels up.
At the time I was living in a house around 9 miles from the site in Luton, it woke us up. At frist we thought something had crashed at the airport it was that loud.
Coffeeholic:
At the time I was living in a houses round 9 mikes from the site in Luton, it woke us up. At frist we thought something had crashed at the airport it was that loud.
sort ya spell checker out !! 
I was in Knutsford, Cheshire, when it went Bang, staying with the in laws, so missed all the fun, but I remember seeing the smoke plume for a few days afterwards when I was driving around Luton. Apparently people in Leighton Buzzard (some 20 miles+ away) said that it blew doors open in their houses, so it was a pretty big explosion.
I put some ro-ro bins on the site, some 6 months afterwards, for the contaminated earth, & it was an Eerie site, a bit like Apocalypse Now.
I set off south from NDC (M1 J18) at 6am… got as far down as Luton Parkway turnoff, and saw what looked like “London had been Nuked!” in front of me…
The police had closed the M1 south any further than J10, and steered us all off towards Hitchin. On the way you could see the huge fire that was in the distance…
Amazing that no one died really. 
I remember delivering to m&s gist a shirt while after and the scene around the industrial estates were like something out of a disaster movie.
Thing is m&s gist was totally untouched but firms around it were blown to bits.
I was on my way to Stranraer for the ferry. I hadn’t got on to the M1 when my boss phones me up to ask if I’m ok (bless him!) . I was oblivious to it all, didn’t have the radio on! Managed to get a pic through the side window. Had a delivery a few months later quite close by to the terminal, the sight of the distorted tanks was shocking.
it woke me up and i live about 24 miles from there.the firm i worked for at the time is literally 4 or 5 hundred yards from buncefield.my dad phoned me at about nine oclock on the sunday morning and told me to turn the news on!!
if i remember correctly we couldnt get into the yard for three days,we were allowed to go and get the lorries out late on the wednesday afternoon.the big mcdonalds warehouse/coldstore protected our place from any damage luckily.
lots of the buildings nearby suffered extensive damage,the amazon warehouse had just been finished,and the roof and sides were buckled to buggery!! i think it took another 2 or 3 years or so to put it right!!
somebody i know that was on the scene right after it happened reckoned that the looters were out almost imediately after it happened!!
There were 2 of us heading northbound on the M1 heading for the NEC & was passing Newport Pagnell services when the first explosion ( we later found out) happened. Both of us heard it clearly, i thought one of the rears had blown out on me trailer
I worked for Somerset Fire Brigade at the time, and we sent crews there. Consequently I have a few pics taken by the firefighters.
