Tanker driver 'blames himself for fuel depot blaze'

Investigators in England are looking into claims by a tanker driver that he triggered the Buncefield oil blast by flicking his engine cut-out switch while there was a vapour leak from the plant.

The man’s friend told The Sun: “There was some sort of vapour leakage, like a dense mist. It was ‘heavy’ – forming in the air and dropping to the ground.

“It seemed to be coming from behind his tanker as he couldn’t see a hole.

“My colleague ran to his tanker, flipped the switch and waited. His engine cut out, then ‘boom!’ He does not know whether he caused it but he blames himself.”

A spokeswoman for Hertfordshire Police confirmed that the driver had given detectives a similar account.

He said: “He is one of the key witnesses and we have spoken to him but whether that is what caused it or not is not something that we know at this stage.”

Police, the fire service and the Health and Safety Executive, are looking into the cause of the blast.

Meanwhile, a bitter war of words erupted last night over claims that firefighters were “woefully prepared” to fight the fire.

Hertfordshire fire chief Roy Wilsher reacted furiously to the Fire Brigades Union’s allegations as it was announced the inferno near Hemel Hempstead had been defeated after a 60-hour battle.

Praising his officers as “magnificent” he poured scorn on the FBU’s criticism and accused it of “pure opportunism”.

He said: “I’m disgusted that the FBU have sought to make political capital out of this incident and to mislead the public, when they should be applauding the actions of firefighters who have performed nothing less than a miracle.”

The last of the blazing oil tanks at the Hertfordshire site, engulfed on Sunday by a series of explosions, was extinguished at 5pm yesterday, although a number of small fires were still burning.

The FBU accused Hertfordshire Fire Authority of only being able to deal with minor oil fires and having almost no capacity to tackle the blaze with foam.

It called for a public inquiry into the fire.

The union cited criticism of the Hertfordshire brigade by inspectors in 1998 and said it had taken more than 24 hours after the fire began before there was enough foam for the fire to be attacked.

FBU spokesman Geoff Ellis claimed foam tanks on some fire engines were left unfilled to save money and the preparedness of the brigade to deal with oil fires was in stark contrast with that of those elsewhere in the country drafted in to help in recent days.

He said: “Hertfordshire Fire Authority was woefully prepared to deal with anything but the most minor oil fire. We would strongly support calls for a public inquiry and believe it is now inevitable.”

But Mr Wilsher said his officers had managed to put out more tank fires than ever before in peacetime Europe.

“The work of my firefighters and my officers has been magnificent. They have worked in extreme conditions, with extreme professionalism,” he said.

Attacking the claims in a press release by the union, he added: “I am stunned by the inaccuracy and venom of this release from the FBU.

“Their claims are utter nonsense and this is pure opportunism of the worst possible kind.”

The union claimed the brigade had no policy or planning for dealing with any major incident requiring foam, that it had no specialist foam vehicles and no large stocks of foam, and Buncefield was not mentioned in its fire safety plan.

Hemel Hempstead MP and former fireman Mike Penning criticised the timing of the FBU’s comments but backed calls for a public inquiry.

Richard Howitt, Labour MEP for the eastern region, voiced concerns that Hertfordshire had no firefighters trained to deal with a blaze at such as scale.

Investigators needed to find out whether the Total site met European safety standards, he added.

Fire services minister Jim Fitzpatrick said the operation had been a “real success” thanks to contingency planning and exercises.

Meanwhile, it was announced that most schools in and around Hemel Hempstead were expected to open today.

Businesses were also expected to re-open and local residents were being allowed to return to inspect their damaged homes.

Health officials said air quality tests had shown a “reassuring” lack of toxic chemicals around the blaze site.