So why did a minor fire in a scrapyard close the M1 for two days?

[super jumbe]

The Highways Agency was criticised last night for keeping a large section of the M1 closed for more than 36 hours after a fire in a scrap metal yard.
The southern end of the motorway remained closed in both directions between Junctions One and Four from 4am on Friday, forcing tens of thousands of motorists to find alternative routes in and out of London on one of the busiest sporting weekends of the year.
Yesterday?s FA Cup semi-final between Manchester United and Manchester City attracted 90,000 football fans to Wembley and thousands of runners and spectators were heading to the capital this morning for the London Marathon.
Edmund King, President of the AA, said: ?The M1 is a vital piece of infrastructure and the most important road into London for the whole country. It is disappointing that it did not reopen sooner.
?When you look at Japan and the damage the earthquake did to the roads there, they managed to carry out repairs far more quickly.?
Last night, one northbound lane of the motorway was reopened between Junctions One and Four. Traffic monitoring organisations reported tailbacks of up to three miles on alternative routes into London including the A1 and the M40.
The Highways Agency said engineers were working around the clock to fix the damaged section of the M1, adding that an important viaduct had been weakened by the fire.
A spokesman said: ?We are doing everything we can to get the M1 open as soon as possible but we cannot take risks with people?s lives. The viaduct needs to be reinforced before it can carry the weight of traffic. We are putting in supports now so that we can reopen the road as soon as possible.?
The fire started at the Apex Metals scrap yard in Mill Hill, below an elevated section of the motorway, early on Friday morning. The blaze quickly spread to the nearby skip yard, where a lorry caught fire.
More than ten fire engines were called to the scene, and about a dozen houses in the area were evacuated by police.

[Meat-Head]

if burning cars are involved you can get some GOOD ACID - either it's called opium or olium - not sure - eats glass, and body parts, no stopping it.

some insurancse asser nelt down next to burnt car, the leg fell off cause of the acid

sometime ago there was a "MASSIVE" fire in some tyre place, something like
should have only had 500 ttres, but they had like 5,000000,000000,000000
tyres, should the entire world down for "MONTHS" went past it 2 weeks later, place was the size of a Tesco.com Express!

[patkins]

I remember reading a few years ago of a warning to Firefighters about an acid given off from burning ignition components that can go right through you.

[Meat-Head]

I remember reading a few years ago of a warning to Firefighters about an acid given off from burning ignition components that can go right through you.

good stuff them ignition module, contains stuff to make cancer if you need it

[gopher7]

According to some reports, there were gas cylinders in the scrapyard which could have exploded.

[oneman]

According to some reports, there were gas cylinders in the scrapyard which could have exploded.

the gas cylinders were cleared on Friday I believe.

[Meat-Head]

word on street states the fire birgade carry 'body bags' for cyclinders, leave for 24 hours in water, and take steps, large ones in opposite direction.

Best thing would have been to dump them in a river. that had had they exploded, would have made fishing easier that day.

[super jumbe]

Off the topic,
What sort of fish, I prefer sharks and whales nice with rice curries would have made my day mate.

[chucklor]

Yeh but look carefully at the picture, Del Boy's still cruising up the motorway.....

[opsmonkey]

I heard today on 5live that the bridge was exposed to a fire that reached 1200 degrees.. Also 200 tonnes of steel props have had to be put underneath the bridge to support the structure..

[C64]

Was the fire not below the bridge, or atleast it had contact with it?

When I was 17..........I went on a fishing trip to Loch Awe.

It was absolutely pissing down and we took shelter in an old abandoned Railway shed.

The floor was solid concrete, we gathered wood and made a large fire on the concrete.

After approx 1 hour the huge fire exploded and put itself out. Once we had gathered ourselves, we realised that the concrete floor had exploded (?!) directly beneath the fire.

A few years later I mentioned it to a workmate and he told that it was most likely due to trapped air bubbles in the concrete.

[Canker_Canison]

After approx 1 hour the huge fire exploded and put itself out. Once we had gathered ourselves, we realised that the concrete floor had exploded (?!) directly beneath the fire.

This is something you're not told in the scouts. They like to build fires & surround them with stones 'to stop it spreading'. Not aware that if there are air pockets in the stones they could explode. This is why 'Fire Bricks' are used to surround open fires...they have no air in them.

The other problem with the structure is that the heat will of warped the steel reinforced cages inside the concrete.

[super jumbe]

I remember my grand dad use to tell me that the last 2nd world war the roads are always open fire or no fire, I think its all to do with over reaction by the force because how far the gas cylinders are going to explode they want go as far as Mars.

[oneman]

Damage to the bridge,

BBC News - Close-up look at damage to closed section of M1

[super jumbe]

Why was the scrap yard under the motorway bridge, I remember when I used to live in London and I have seen most garages have been build under the railway arch, now just imagine if a welding gas cylinder going off when a fast London to Glasgow train running over the arch will course, our council should close all business under the bridge they are not safe.