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Sunday, 9th September 2007

Scotland

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Sun=20 9 Sep 2007

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Massive blast at Ayrshire factory

JOANNA VALLELY

A MASSIVE explosion at a chemical plant shook the Ayrshire coast last = night,=20 with witnesses reporting flames shooting 100ft into the air.

The blaze, which was described as a major incident, could be seen 10 = miles=20 away. It was not confirmed if there was anyone in the factory at the = time of the=20 blast, just after 8pm.

However, some local residents said they thought there could have been = staff=20 working in the plant, which is owned by Nobel Enterprises.

Police last night cordoned off streets within two-thirds of a mile of = the=20 plant and warned residents to keep doors and windows shut.

Brian Donohoe, the Labour MP for Central Ayrshire, which includes the = plant,=20 said: "It has rocked the town. There was a loud bang, the flames were = 100ft=20 high. You could see them from Irvine."

It is believed the factory was producing explosives for the mining = industry.=20

A spokesman for Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said seven fire engines = were sent=20 to the site but a request was made for more appliances an hour later. =

A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said: "There has been an = explosion and a=20 fire. We have no information with regard to casualties at the moment." =

Pamela Murdoch, 37, a civil servant, reported seeing a bright orange = sky over=20 the factory and was unable to return to her home half a mile away.

She said: "You can see the sky bright orange. It's quite scary. They = won't=20 let anyone into the area."

Murdoch said her husband used to work as a fireman at the factory. = "It's an=20 empty compound area where they used to keep nitroglycerine. There is a = plastics=20 factory beside it, so we are worried about toxic fumes."

She added that she thought nightshift workers would have been at the = plant.=20

James Smith, 54, of Ardoch Court, about half a mile from the blaze, = described=20 how he heard explosions and saw huge flames as the factory went up. He = said: "It=20 was enormous. The flames were a couple of hundred feet high. It was like = a white=20 flame. There were a couple of explosions, like gas canisters.

When we looked out of the window we saw the red glow against the = houses. It=20 was as if the sun was shining. Everyone was getting in their cars and = driving=20 out of the cul-de-sac to see what was happening."

Margaret McGowan, a bar worker at the Station Bar on Station Road in=20 Stevenston, said the town had been transfixed by the blaze.

She said: "All the customers were outside watching. The explosion was = huge.=20 They said there was a big fire but they didn't know what it was."

Frank Chan was walking back to his bed and breakfast in Ardeer when = he heard=20 the explosion. He told the BBC. "As I walked along I heard the explosion = and saw=20 the flames."

This article:=20 http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=3D1442302007

Last updated: 08-Sep-07 00:40 BST

Comments Ad= d=20 your comment

1.=20 Douglas, Bathgate / 9:16am 9 Sep 2007=20

Eyewitnesses eh? You've got to love them.

Report=20 as unsuitable=20

2.=20 sharrenuk, north ayrshire / 10:35am 9 Sep 2007=20

i live in ardeer about 100 yards from the fire there were a lot of=20 explosions and huge huge flames. the whole estate was out on the = street=20 watching with helicopters flying overhead. I have not seen any police = about=20 our street and no one has said to close all windows or anything like = that.=20 there is not even any smell of smoke in the air

Report=20 as unsuitable=20

3.=20 sharrenuk, north ayrshire / 10:36am 9 Sep 2007=20

Report=20 as unsuitable=20

4.=20 victor meldruid, st ronans / 12:03pm 9 Sep 2007=20

You have to question why a business like this is allowed to be = sited in the=20 middle of a residential area.

There is a chemical plant in Walkerburn which had a major blaze six = years=20 ago, endangering the surrounding village. It was re-opened and = continues its=20 production, with regular incidents, right next door to the local = primary=20 school!

Report=20 as unsuitable=20

5.=20 Dukie, Glasgow, England / 9:32am 9 Sep 2007=20

Apparently it caused hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of=20 improvements.

Report=20 as unsuitable=20

6.=20 babyface, stevenston / 12:28pm 9 Sep 2007=20

i lived at the top end of stevenston call the hayocks the night of = the fire=20 i was looking out of the window to check on my wee girl then i saw a = bright=20 light so i went out to the garden to see what it was saw flames never = seen=20 anything like it before the flames where so high

Report=20 as unsuitable=20

7.=20 Justy, Abbeyhill / 1:54pm 9 Sep 2007=20

Since this reportwas filed it has been discovered that the culprits = behind=20 the blaze are boys over the age of eight --- the criminal age of=20 responsibility under Scots law.
Why then have they not been charged = with=20 criminal damage instead of being paced under the direction of a = children's=20 panel?
Justy.

Report=20 as unsuitable=20

8.=20 Gnasher / 2:23pm 9 Sep 2007=20

Because it's only 2pm on the Sunday after the event?

Report=20 as unsuitable=20

9.=20 dyb / 2:23pm 9 Sep 2007=20

Often teh factory was built out of toiwn, but the twons then = expanded,=20 becasuse a) workers wanted to be near work, and B) councils wanted = more=20 housing.

Report=20 as unsuitable=20

10.=20 bully wee alba, Edinburgh / 2:51pm 9 Sep 2007=20

I worked at Ardeer in the 1970=E2=80=99s, when it was known as = (ICI) Nobel=20 Explosives, as opposed to Nobel Enterprise.

This place is an accident/disaster waiting to happen.

This is a huge site, at one time described as the biggest = explosives plant=20 in Europe. So much so that during the second world war, a replica was = built=20 further north, to confuse German bombers into targeting the wrong = place.

The main function of the Nobel Explosive company was as the name = suggests,=20 to produce explosives.
Propellants, black powder, and seismic = mixtures were=20 all produced with what appeared to be archaic methods.

I was located in the =E2=80=9CPropellants=E2=80=9D plant, and was = required to sign the=20 Official Secrets Act, due to the fact that I was involved somehow in = the=20 production of the British Inter Continental Missile Bomb (ICMB).

Hardly a week would go past when there was not a = =E2=80=9Cwhoose=E2=80=9D. A whoose being a=20 more accurate description of an explosion than a =E2=80=9Cbang = =E2=80=9C as used by those who=20 have never experienced such a thing.

Bearing in mind the size of this site, and the history of it, I am=20 concerned at the reports of a fire there.

Report=20 as unsuitable=20

11.=20 Terry Tibbs, Stevenston / 3:26pm 9 Sep 2007=20

I was out jogging when the explosion started and thought it was al = quaeda=20 so i jumped in a bush and hid until i smelled dog droppings and then=20 discovered it was my boxer shorts. I walked along the hill and found = myself in=20 trouble.The Anoplast Factory was on fire! i immediately phoned the = operator=20 and asked the number for 999 she replied 999 from then on i sat with = my=20 powerde bottle and tried to exstinguish the fire single handedly = resulting in=20 losing my powerade and my left testicle. Soon the firebrigengine = arrived and=20 my left testicle was recovered by a labrador.The fire was huge! like = my=20 friends flat.Check out the groovy colours in the pictures on google = and look=20 how my left testicle turned out after a quick toasting! = Goodnight

Report=20 as unsuitable=20

12.=20 AMNo2tiredofmoaningtothemoderator / 3:57pm 9 Sep 2007 =

Terry I was flying my big kite above the Wee Idea, when an Irvinian = mendicant became ensnared in my kite strings, as I tried to = extrapolate him a=20 Labrador ran up and bit him in the nads, making off with his right = testicle. I=20 threw a Magnum at the dog, unfortunately it jumped in the river and = swam=20 Nobely to the other side. Could it be that you have the wrong = teste?

PS How huge is your flat pal?

Report=20 as unsuitable=20

13.=20 tbmom, Texas / 4:42pm 9 Sep 2007=20

I nursed at Irvine infective disease hospital as it was called in = the late=20 60's I always said that ICI was an accident wating to happen.And where = would=20 they go? We could not treat or admit due to the nature of the hospital = ,next=20 door was Maternity I doubt theyd do any better.The nearest hospital = was=20 Kilmarnock Infirmary -about 18 miles away. If you have critial burns = etc they=20 would have to go to Glasgow.Not one govt or political person I am sure = thought=20 of this when they built that place and did not build a hospital = facility=20 closer than Kilmarnock to deal with trauma that eventually would occur = there.=20 They were lucky there was no explosions up until they finally built = Crosshouse=20 but only be the grace of God. I hope no one was seriously injured in = this=20 explosion.

Report=20 as unsuitable=20

14.=20 Banana Heid, Ayrshire / 4:50pm 9 Sep 2007=20

Apparently John Smeaton was spotted near the bad idea at the time = of the=20 incident.

Report=20 as unsuitable=20

15.=20 missing home / 6:57pm 9 Sep 2007=20

ICI and the Nylon Plant have probably done more damage than will = ever be=20 known. Many of my family members worked there, two uncles injured in=20 explosions. It got to the point in the 60's when you heard a loud bang = and the=20 windows rattled, it was a case of 'oh that's the factory, hope no one = was=20 killed'. And that's not counting the chemical emissions damage.
To = the=20 facetious posters above, shame on you.

Report=20 as unsuitable

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