Metroline Potters Bar depot fire

[Mr Manager]

Metroline are suffering a fire at Potters Bar depot.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-61543634

Four buses have caught fire at a town centre transport depot.
Heavy smoke drifted across Potters Bar after Hertfordshire crews were called to the scene on the High Street at 14:36 BST.
Eyewitness Shaun Cunningham said he heard an "unbelievable noise that sounded like a jet" and he saw a bus had "exploded into a ball of flames".
The fire service said it received "numerous calls" and was working with police to evacuate the area.

 

[philjo]

The latest BBC update mentions at least 7 hybrid buses are alight.
The smoke can be seen from St Albans.

 

[Failed Unit]

i was wondering what the smoke was south of Welwyn Garden City.

 

[DaveLondon]

The latest BBC update mentions at least 7 hybrid buses are alight.
The smoke can be seen from St Albans.

Not seen any suggestion 7 hybrid buses are alight. The fire started in an electric metrodecker, destroyed at least one more along with 2 x TE (E400 diesel) and 2 x VW (Vo B9/Gemini) it is reported. Suspect this is more accurate than 7 hybrids!

 

[Mr Manager]

Just seen this on Driving London's you tube channel.
Scary how one just explodes into flames.

 

[Busaholic]

Surely it's irrelevant which types of buses caught fire beyond the one that burst into flames. If any bus was near enough to an inferno it would catch fire too, diesel, hybrid, electric or any other form of propulsion.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 May 2022 ==

Surely it's irrelevant which types of buses caught fire beyond the one that burst into flames. If any bus was near enough to an inferno it would catch fire too, diesel, hybrid, electric or any other form of propulsion.

 

[Gloster]

Latest report in the local rag, but probably accurate as it is quoting a Fire Officer, is that two electric hybrid and four diesel buses were involved.

 

[150249]

Does anyone know what the numbers are/were?

 

[richardcoughla]

Does anyone know what the numbers are/were?

Nothing confirmed yet but it looks like one OME and a handful of TEs and a VW.

 

[Snow1964]

Sounds like 2 electric OME Metrodeckers, 2 diesel enviro400s and 2 Volvo Gemini

They were parked at back of garage, not where chargers are, so if as reported elsewhere it wouldn’t have been whilst charging.

I have heard (unconfirmed) that it might have been a battery fire in one of the electric buses. This apparently burned at over 660c so aluminium melted. Melting aluminium and water do not mix, they explode. (The water vaporises into steam ejecting tiny pellets of aluminium oxide and hydrogen, the hydrogen mixes with oxygen and burns very fast, an exothermic reaction, the explosive burn is 2-3 times more intense than nitro-glycerine)

The video seems to show water being sprayed at the buses, (which may have had an aluminium fire) and an explosion. But it’s probably best to let fire service do their investigation and explain what happened (rather than speculate) in case they accidentally used water on a melting aluminium fire.

None of Metroline’s hydrogen buses are based at Potters Bar, I dread to think what would happen if one of those was in an intense fire.

 

[Glasgowbusguy]

Sounds like 2 electric OME Metrodeckers, 2 diesel enviro400s and 2 Volvo Gemini

They were parked at back of garage, not where chargers are, so if as reported elsewhere it wouldn’t have been whilst charging.

I have heard (unconfirmed) that it might have been a battery fire in one of the electric buses. This apparently burned at over 660c so aluminium melted. Melting aluminium and water do not mix, they explode. (The water vaporises into steam ejecting tiny pellets of aluminium oxide and hydrogen, the hydrogen mixes with oxygen and burns very fast, an exothermic reaction, the explosive burn is 2-3 times more intense than nitro-glycerine)

The video seems to show water being sprayed at the buses, (which may have had an aluminium fire) and an explosion. But it’s probably best to let fire service do their investigation and explain what happened (rather than speculate) in case they accidentally used water on a melting aluminium fire.

None of Metroline’s hydrogen buses are based at Potters Bar, I dread to think what would happen if one of those was in an intense fire.

If a hydrogen bus had been involved and it was fueled , the bang would have been huge

 

[dodecahedron67]

Precautions being taken at various companies with “temporary” withdrawal of metrodecker EVs

 

[Robertj21a]

Some London routes not operating, others at reduced frequency.

 

[Gerald Fiennes]

If a hydrogen bus had been involved and it was fueled , the bang would have been huge

Actually, not really. Hydrogen burns readily but is hard to contain for enough time to create a 'bang' as it is a very light gas and soon escapes to the atmosphere. See the Hindenburg: it burnt, but didn't explode...

 

[ValleyLines142]

Precautions being taken at various companies with “temporary” withdrawal of metrodecker EVs

Looks as if the Hydrogen FCEVs at Perivale for the 7 have been temporarily withdrawn too, as the 7 seems to be mostly original-look 14-reg B5LHs today.

Edit: scrap the above, looks as if they've not been out for about a fortnight, for whatever reason.

 

[MCR247]

Looks as if the Hydrogen FCEVs at Perivale for the 7 have been temporarily withdrawn too, as the 7 seems to be mostly original-look 14-reg B5LHs today.

Edit: scrap the above, looks as if they've not been out for about a fortnight, for whatever reason.

They seem to have periods of a few weeks out of service at a time for some reason

 

[ValleyLines142]

They seem to have periods of a few weeks out of service at a time for some reason

Indeed, doesn't look very good considering they're only a year and a half old.

 

[Robertj21a]

Sounds like 2 electric OME Metrodeckers, 2 diesel enviro400s and 2 Volvo Gemini

They were parked at back of garage, not where chargers are, so if as reported elsewhere it wouldn’t have been whilst charging.

I have heard (unconfirmed) that it might have been a battery fire in one of the electric buses. This apparently burned at over 660c so aluminium melted. Melting aluminium and water do not mix, they explode. (The water vaporises into steam ejecting tiny pellets of aluminium oxide and hydrogen, the hydrogen mixes with oxygen and burns very fast, an exothermic reaction, the explosive burn is 2-3 times more intense than nitro-glycerine)

The video seems to show water being sprayed at the buses, (which may have had an aluminium fire) and an explosion. But it’s probably best to let fire service do their investigation and explain what happened (rather than speculate) in case they accidentally used water on a melting aluminium fire.

None of Metroline’s hydrogen buses are based at Potters Bar, I dread to think what would happen if one of those was in an intense fire.

Aren't most bus bodies full of aluminium anyway ?
I'm guessing the fire services know what they are doing!

 

[LOL The Irony]

None of Metroline’s hydrogen buses are based at Potters Bar, I dread to think what would happen if one of those was in an intense fire.

The tanks would be vented to atmosphere in a controlled manner (as do all buses powered by a compressed gas), of which you can find videos of online.

 

[richardcoughla]

A few pics of the aftermath of the fire

https://twitter.com/transporthub21/status/1528594106322243586?t=8tRBnDYShoOmNp32X3IVzw&s=19

 

[150249]

A few pics of the aftermath of the fire

https://twitter.com/transporthub21/status/1528594106322243586?t=8tRBnDYShoOmNp32X3IVzw&s=19

Looks like VW1838, VW1200, OME2670, TE1426 and TE1083 are all victims

 

[LOL The Irony]

A few pics of the aftermath of the fire

https://twitter.com/transporthub21/status/1528594106322243586?t=8tRBnDYShoOmNp32X3IVzw&s=19

I'm guessing the gap between the Gemini and Enviro was the Metrodecker?

 

[Busoccultation]

I'm guessing the gap between the Gemini and Enviro was the Metrodecker?

Yes it was the Metrodecker that started the fire.

 

[GusB]

Yes it was the Metrodecker that started the fire.

Has it been proven that it was the Metrodecker and, if so, do you have a source to confirm your assertion?

 

[150249]

Has it been proven that it was the Metrodecker and, if so, do you have a source to confirm your assertion?

Not proven last time I checked but the videos clearly show the flames centred around the Metrodecker

 

[dodecahedron67]

I can confirm it was a metrodecker charging that started the fire as that’s why our metrodeckers have been “grounded”

 

[DunsBus]

I can confirm it was a metrodecker charging that started the fire as that’s why our metrodeckers have been “grounded”

Sounds like a cell on one of the batteries shorted, then took out the rest of the batteries (and the bus, along with five others).

 

[DaveLondon]

Looks like VW1838, VW1200, OME2670, TE1426 and TE1083 are all victims

What is your source? LVF partly agrees with you but VW1838 had not been used for well over a year and not all the others are recorded as fire damaged.
.

 

[150249]

What is your source? LVF partly agrees with you but VW1838 had not been used for well over a year and not all the others are recorded as fire damaged.
.

Can't say from them all, I'm just looking at the various photos taken after the fire.
On some photos you can clearly see the numbers TE1083 and VW1838 and the registration plate LK62DYA (TE1426)

 

[Snow1964]

What is your source? LVF partly agrees with you but VW1838 had not been used for well over a year and not all the others are recorded as fire damaged.
.

I think VW1838 had been used for a while as a meal relief bus when social distancing was in force. But was presumably parked out of use. It was a 2010 bus inherited from First