breaking : evacuee bus with elderly on fire in Dallas

[tocqueville]

casualties reported

http://www.click2houston.com/index.html?refresh=1200

[wellstone dem]

1. picture on MSNBC

it will make you weep

[skeeterintexas]

2. Elderly with oxygen tanks...not good

Spokesman from the Dallas County Sheriff's office says that it was from Bellaire full of elderly patients, some on oxygen. The bus had brake problems and the oxygen tanks just fueled the fire.

45 on board and only about half got off.

So, so sad.

[malaise]

4. Geez

these poor old people. Are you serious that only half got off. KhOU is saying 30 on board. http://www.khou.com/

[cynatnite]

3. I believe one person was killed

very sad, indeed :(

[skeeterintexas]

6. Local news showing the bus

There's NOTHING left of it, jsut a skeleton.

45-50 on board and the bus driver went back numerous times to help them off but I can see where that would be a problem.

[Ilsa]

5. They are only reporting one dead right now.

This is horrible. Here they are, trying to escape possible death and a fire breaks out on their bus. Only half were able to get off. Geez. Prayers for all of them.

[tanyev]

7. Terrible for the people on the bus and their families,

and it also creates even more horrendous gridlock on I-45.

[malaise]

8. 20 deaths reported

http://www.khou.com/
Good grief this is sad.

[crispini]

9. Aiyo, it's just a blackened shell of a bush.

:scared: "at least 20 people missing, several fatalities confirmed"

[mopaul]

10. hospitals told to prepare for high casualties

just more horror after horror

[crispini]

11. medical examiner's office expecting 24 casualties

edited to add: 21 made it off the bus.

[cynatnite]

12. OMG! 20 Dead!

:cry:

[skeeterintexas]

13. Now they're saying 24

Driver reporting a brake problem as earlier reported.

[jim3775]

16. KTRK-ABC:The Dallas sheriff's office is confirming this. n/t

[blitzen]

14. Where were they evacuating from? n/t

[skeeterintexas]

15. Bellaire - SW of Houston

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

17. Oh no.

This is getting really insane.

[TahitiNut]

18. Gee, sure was good they got on a bus, right?

Heaven forbid anyone criticize the mayor for not getting buses for these people. We don't need no steenking ambulances or trained caregivers! Who needs to regulate transporting pressurized oxygen containers when a hurricane is coming, right? Just pack a whole bus full of 'em! (Fucking imbeciles!)

[malaise]

19. Someone should have told 'his efficient'

Perry that hydraulic breaks are dangerous in slow moving traffic and are a fire hazard when mixed with oxygen tanks.
Why aren't engineers in charge of disaster preparations?

[skeeterintexas]

20. Same 'officials' that delayed reversing I-45

I couldn't believe that they waited until 3:00 pm Wednesday to make I-45 northbound only.

As the Houston police chief said when questioned about the delay yesterday afternoon "We're working on it".

Idiot.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

21. oxy tanks for elderly ignited. 24 dead

oh my gawd. what a horror.

[fed-up]

25. I read on another chat board that it took 14-15 hours to contact DOT

to get permission to do the contraflow.

This is a horrendous accident, but one to be expected considering the huge number of evacuees/traffic.

Another damned if you do and damned if you don't situation.

I hope all Texas DUers in the path of the storm are either out or hunkered down safely.

[Horse with no Name]

29. Problem is that there are alot of bus companies in Texas

that have a laundry list of safety violations.
My guess is that you will find this company did as well.
None of these buses should have been used unless the company had a clear safety record.
FEMA should certify which bus companies can and can't be used for evacuations.

[Benhurst]

22. This is so Third World. No, it's worse than that, because

Third World countries are poor and can't help it. This one is rich, but has all its priorities wrong. BushAmerica: Root, hog, or die.

[crispini]

23. What part of "it was an accident" are you not getting?

I fail to see how anything, other than maybe the bus maintenance, is at fault. The bus had a ton of oxygen on it. Not good for fires.

[malaise]

26. Wrong

During a discussion on KHOU, a man pointed out that hydraulic brakes on 18 wheelers have a tendency to start fires if they have too many stops and starts. Most buses use the same brake system and the fact that traffic is not moving means that drivers have been using the brakes non-stop.

If engineers were in charge of disaster evacuation, they would have pointed out that mixing oxygen with hydraulic brakes was a recipe for a major fire. As sad as this is the good news is that the bus did not explode in the middle of a long line of traffic because hundreds would be dead.

Put simply moving the elderly who use oxygen was not well thought out.

[txindy]

27. You're right.

The hydraulic brakes along with the oxygen containers was definitely not well thought out. It may have needed to be done, but they should have evacuated those folks to a place much closer than Dallas to cut down on the hazard.

[skeeterintexas]

28. Could the delay in 'contraflow'

be a MAJOR problem in all this?

Uhhhh...they want 5 million people to leave but then don't think about gridlocked traffic and lack of fuel.

I have no use for Rick Perry.

[Benhurst]

30. What part of "unprofessional management" and "lack of planning"

don't you get?

Accidents will happen, especially with untrained political hacks in charge.

[OhioChick]

24. This is awful.........

So much misery the past few weeks. When will it end? :cry:

[graywarrior]

31. The poor. Damned if they do, damned if they don't

Just confirms in my mind that if I had to evacuate on route 75 to get out of Florida, I'd rather take my chances and ride out a storm.

[Bouncy Ball]

32. My God, I know exactly where that is.

I mean, I could pinpoint it on a map. I've driven that road a million times.

Those poor people.

Oh I'll stick this here---I have a friend I am finally back in touch with who evacuated from Houston. I read her evac story. I don't have her permission to post it here yet, but I am hoping to get it soon. They are LYING on TV about gas getting to these people. It is HORRIFIC.