Buncefield Fuel Depot Fire
Put Hemel Hempstead on the map!
By Ian Phipps
I live in Felden 2 miles from the Buncefield Fuel Depot in Hemel Hempstead. We were woken up by a loud bang just after 6.00 am on a Sunday morning. I was working at a car dealership - Pilling Motor Group in Hemel Hempstead at the time and on my drive into work I decided to take some photographs.
The smoke went about a mile up into the atmosphere and eventually ended up stretching as far as Kent, approximately 100 miles long. Fortunately for everyone underneath the cloud it didn't rain, as no doubt the burnt fuel would not have been very nice.
Needless to say all my appointments cancelled for the day and we had a very quiet time.