• Paris building blast: Four dead, eleven injured, five missing
    6 replies, posted
[QUOTE] Four people have been killed and eleven others injured after an explosion destroyed a four-storey building in a suburb of Paris on Sunday morning. Rescue teams with sniffer dogs are searching through the rubble for five other people, including a child, who are still missing. The exact cause of the blast is still being investigated though a gas leak is suspected. [/QUOTE] [url]http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29002970[/url]
Must've been one hell of a blast to destroy a four storey building. I hope they find the child. :(
So not terrorism? [editline]1st September 2014[/editline] Actually, it could still be terrorism.
Gas leak that destroyed a 4 story building? Did everyone have a cold and lose their sense of smell? Unless it was a very large leak it would take an awful long time to fill that building up with enough gas to topple it.
I hope they find those five missing people still alive, it's early so there's still some hope they can be rescued in time.[QUOTE=UncleJimmema;45859419]Gas leak that destroyed a 4 story building? Did everyone have a cold and lose their sense of smell? Unless it was a very large leak it would take an awful long time to fill that building up with enough gas to topple it.[/QUOTE]Entirely depends on the structure and how the blast wave propagates throughout the open space inside. Considering the rubble looks like it's all brick-based, a sudden and violent pulse of positive pressure could force the walls outward. This would loosen the mortar and if the walls weren't breached and completely toppled, (or a sizable whole punched through, which would allow the passage of air) the negative pressure of the cavity inside would finish the job by pulling the walls back in. All you'd need is the first or second story to be compromised, the weight of the rest of the building would be enough to bring the whole thing down. Remember kids: gas lines are no joke, if you suspect there's a leak you should take care of that ASAP.
[QUOTE=JumpinJackFlash;45859752]I hope they find those five missing people still alive, it's early so there's still some hope they can be rescued in time.Entirely depends on the structure and how the blast wave propagates throughout the open space inside. Considering the rubble looks like it's all brick-based, a sudden and violent pulse of positive pressure could force the walls outward. This would loosen the mortar and if the walls weren't breached and completely toppled, (or a sizable whole punched through, which would allow the passage of air) the negative pressure of the cavity inside would finish the job by pulling the walls back in. All you'd need is the first or second story to be compromised, the weight of the rest of the building would be enough to bring the whole thing down. Remember kids: gas lines are no joke, if you suspect there's a leak you should take care of that ASAP.[/QUOTE] Gas blowing up the building doesn't surprise me, and I am aware that it's entirely possible. My issue is if the building was occupied how did those inside not smell the gas? As I said it would take some time for the has to build sufficient saturation to cause such a shock wave that would be capable of bringing the building down versus just blowing out the windows. If the building were not occupied then I would not be surprised.
[QUOTE=UncleJimmema;45859781]Gas blowing up the building doesn't surprise me, and I am aware that it's entirely possible. My issue is if the building was occupied how did those inside not smell the gas? As I said it would take some time for the has to build sufficient saturation to cause such a shock wave that would be capable of bringing the building down versus just blowing out the windows. If the building were not occupied then I would not be surprised.[/QUOTE]Gas is generally heavier than air, so if the offending line in question was sufficiently isolated and there was little draft or airflow to that room then that could be a reason. Or perhaps the leak was higher up, but the gas seeped down through a wall and eventually pooled up in an area where an ignition source was present on a lower level. Hard to say for sure, I suppose we'll have to see what the investigators find. [editline]1st September 2014[/editline] Also, you're right, the building could have been unoccupied while the gas accumulated to the point of being able to level the structure.
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