One of my greatest fears is not being home when there is an emergency. My dogs and cats would be lost without someone to comfort them in a moment of chaos, not to mention the possibility that they may become lost, as they are all indoor beasties.

Today I felt a moment of panic while Frinklin and I sat in traffic on 38th Street wondering why there was so much traffic while were were running errands. Eventually I had the idea to switch from the Cougar game to the news on the radio where an explosion at the Atlas Foundry was being discussed. Or rather, being mentioned briefly. Almost an hour after the event took place, only the traffic problems were being talked about, the actual explosion itself was barely mentioned, except to say that it had been felt up to five miles away and that there was a 500 foot fireball.

Immediately we swung around and headed for downtown and an alternate way home. I heard Sprague Avenue being mentioned, which isn't far from my home, and doubled my efforts to get home quickly. Down Pacific, over the 5 (totally stopped), up 11th, down Fawcett, up Division, down Sheridan, and HOME.

Fortunately I completely overreacted and everything was fine at my house. All the pets were relaxed and happy to see us home as usual. Unfortunately, we are short numerous items we desperately needed on our errand run.

But household needs pale in the face of disaster, and I pray that everyone in and around the Atlas Foundry stays safe. There is still an unexploded propane tank that the firefighters are working around.

UPDATE:

Video of the explosion is available here. 4:15 is the big explosion.

Posted by: Ensie at 03:47 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
Post contains 293 words, total size 2 kb.

1 We were napping when it happened so didn't hear anything. Sounds like one person is sadly missing and they're still battling the flames.

Posted by: KevinFreitas at October 06, 2007 05:30 PM (ROdeo)

2 I am so sorry I missed your call! We were swimming at the Y and had no idea what happened until we heard someone mention their computers were down from "the blast." All it did here was make the lights flicker a little and there may have been an ever so slight rumble. One guy said it made his front door blast open (must've lived pretty close.) So sad for those workers.

Posted by: Sarah at October 06, 2007 06:24 PM (uy3BR)

3 Hi Sarah - no worries! I appreciate your comment! We made it home pretty quickly after I left you a message and everyone was fine, I just tend to overreact in situations like this. God knows what I'll do when I have kids. Thanks for the comment! Glad to hear that you and yours are all fine!

Posted by: ensie at October 06, 2007 06:48 PM (6We+3)

4 I just saw that video on the news and logged on to see if you'd blogged about it. Glad you and your family are safe. That was an enormous explosion. How sad that Angelina's minimal weight gain gets more attention than a 500 foot fireball.

Posted by: Violet at October 08, 2007 08:04 AM (GrpxK)

5 That company wasted too much time fighting its own. You can't always get what you want. 352-001 Watch me. 70-271 See you later. NS0-153 Have a heart. 642-504 I'm innocent. MB6-511 That eases my mind.

Posted by: Pass4sure engine at February 02, 2009 06:59 AM (P7E/+)

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