Eagle Transport (Gas Haulers)

Yeah ... he seems to be okay ... but I heard (maybe true, maybe not) that some people were ticked at him for not trying to save the tractor. I couldn't imagine trying to drop the landing gear, pulling the 5th wheel pin, pulling the air lines off ... etc with a flame back there.

About 15 years ago I had a defective relay valve on the rear end that caught my arse end on fire. Was talking to a Kenan driver when it flared up and then it caught some grease on fire ... next thing I knew the tire was smoking to beat the band. This was in the day before cell phones and the Kenan driver pulled over and called 911. Within a few minutes I had a NC Highway patrolman on the horn telling me to not stop and keep the flames blowing away from the tank ... he got in front of me and turned his bubble gum lights on and parked in every intersection until I came through going about 20 mph ... he did that through about 15 intersections until we got to Southerland Avenue in Monroe where there were 3 firetrucks waiting on me ... they were shooting water all over me even before I got stopped. Took almost 20 minutes before the axle stopped turning the water into steam ... you could have heard my heart beating a thousand miles away ... I was shaking so bad I could hardly handle the wrench to back the brakes off on that side of the axle. Surprisingly enough there was very little damage ... after it got cooled down and the brakes backed off, I went ahead and delivered the load

 

Well ... wsyrob, here's a great chance for you to start to fully understand your breaking system on your unit. You can either google "relay valves in trucks" or ask your mechanic next time are at or in the shop.

If you are asking if it was the safest thing to do ... the answer is no. Should it have been checked out first ... yes. If DOT had been there, would the vehicle have been put out of service ... yes.

What prompted my decision to back the brakes completely off on that one axle and to go on with the load was determined more than anything else by the location where I was. Though I had been in moderately heavy traffic with many stop lights to contend with up to the point where the fire department began squirting me down at Southerland Avenue ... I was only about 2 stop lights away from my destination. I was pretty sure I could accomplish that. If I had been in a situation where it would have been a long way to my final destination ... it would have been a completely different senario.

 

Now why didn't I say that ... that is sooooo cool ... have to remember that one ... you DO have a way with words!!!

 

Tank farm on fire in Greensboro..Google WFMY News 2..Greensboro news station..

 

Yeah Phantom ... looks like they are doing a good job of containing the fire, or at least not allowing any of the surrounding tanks to get hot enough to detonate.

Had a similar situation in Charlotte during the first Gulf War. Some clown tried to cut the bolts off of a tank at the old Phibro terminal with an aceteline (sp) torch. Apparently he didn't like the position that George Bush Sr took with reference to Kuwait and did it as a political protest against our involvment.

The guy was realy stupid and had no idea what was in the tank he was cutting the bolts off of. Luckily the tank was in the process of being shut down for a scheduled clean out (which doesn't happen very often) and it was mainly diesel sludge that caught on fire. Burned the woods up behind the terminal but was very well contained within the dykes seperating them from the BP tank farm. The idiot sustained burns to about 30% of his body and after a few months in the hospital he went to prison where he is still warehoused.

 

I think I am almost done with training. It is not a perfect company by any means. The worst part of the job is having to wear a fire suit at some of the racks. It is amazing how hot it gets wearing one of those things. Hopefully I will be getting a few more cards this week.