CGH2 roll-over

A compressed hydrogen tube trailer overturned while travelling. One of the ten tubes released hydrogen, which ignited. The hydrogen in the other tubes released later.

[Zalosh and Short, 1978]

The INITIATING CAUSE was rupture of a valve on one of the tube of a tube trailer.
The ROOT CAUSE was the loss of control of the vehicle.
The text in the source is unclear regarding the sequence of the incident following the development of a fire on one of the tube. Was the hydrogen release from the other tubes a manual intervention of the first responders, or automatically triggered by the increase of temperature due to the fire?

piping

First responders from the local community and the university campus were quickly on the scene. Once the injured were attended to and the site secured, response efforts focused first on assessing potential hazards (electrical, fire, hazardous materials, etc.). Campus personnel worked into the night to board up windows, isolate utility services, clean up debris, and otherwise secure the affected laboratories.

There were a number of factors that mitigated the damage and allowed normal building activities to resume relatively quickly:

1. The laboratory group practiced good housekeeping, which minimized secondary impacts from the explosion.

2. Emergency information about hazards in the laboratory was posted outside the door and was helpful to emergency responders.

3. The Emergency Action Plan for the building had identified exit routes and a plan for evacuating the building in the event of an emergency. Building occupants followed the plan in a timely manner.

4. During the recent remodelling of the building, utilities were reconfigured for the laboratories such that each laboratory could be isolated. This reconfiguration of utilities allowed service to the affected laboratories to be cut off while service to the remaining laboratories in the building continued to function.

5. Cooperation between local first responders and campus personnel was excellent. This cooperative approach was built on a history of exercises and coordination meetings to strengthen working relationships.