Well What do you expect, from Clayton County?
 

What makes me crazy is the Less than educated Fire Chief...

Hey,Down here in the lower 48..
How can you tell a Lawyer gone bad...'Addressed as Senator!

I emailed the reporter.

I think the reporter was just writing what she was told. I found the comments from "officials" to be filled with sensationalism and untruths.

The whole situation smacks of panic-mongering. It's ironic that you can go down most any street and see thousands of gallons of #2 fuel oil stored in tanks outside homes.

Holy Crap!!! Quick, someone call all the farmers of the world and tell them that they have put us all at risk! How could they subject all of us to this "nightmare situation," . . . this . . . this . . . this "travesty," if you will. These reckless farm people could have have blown us all to bits!


Question. If the following is true:

"Police, firefighters and the state Environmental Protection Division assessed the damage and found no leaks, Cohilas said."

Then how is this possible?

"The fuel could have ignited a storm drain, got in the groundwater or caused numerous other problems, firefighters said."

And this . . .

“The codes, ordinance and life safety measures he violated are too numerous for me to name,” Cohilas said.

. . . is perhaps the most meaningless and ignorant statement of the whole article.

OMG!! I store 800 gallons of #2 in the basement of my house in New Paltz!!!:eek::eek: And it is all about 10 feet from the oil burner!!!
I could level a square mile!

I guess I qualify as having weapons of mass destruction!

Oh, and what about the 22 gallons in the tank of the car? I could take out a school with that!!!


SHEEET, I mean don't they have oil heat in Atlanta? What about the basement tanks of apartment buildings?

If anyone cares to email the Clayton County fire department and let them know that you disagree with some of their more ridiculous statements, the email can be found here:

http://www.claytoncountyfiredepartment.com/

(Look in the upper right hand corner)

Paste the link to the article and ask some legitimate questions, there is no point in sending rude or disparaging comments. However, I don't see the harm in asking them to clarify some of their statements. For instance, I would like to know what type of study was carried out to determine the "14 houses" hysteria - my goodness, if these guys know something we don’t; we could all be in BIG trouble.

All of this is not to say the this guy was not in violation of local codes; however, the statements from the fire officials are beyond ridiculous and if they were overseeing the fire response protocol in my region I would be frightened.

She did say she was just reporting what she was told by the 33 year vet fire chief. I say he needs go to back to fire school, or be beeotch slapped for the sensationalism he's spreading. Didn't reporters used to research things before writing an article? You know, like really work for the story? This is a reason why I think the media sucks and has no credibility.

I e-mailed the fire department with some questions about their intelligent statements. We'll see if they respond. :D

Email sent
 

If anyone is interested:

"Hello gentlemen (and ladies, perhaps,)

I have just read this article: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/03/31/diesel_wrecker_service.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab

I have some questions:

1.) I heat with fuel oil, identical to diesel fuel. What precautions must I take to prevent this 250 gallon tank of diesel from causing harm to myself and my neighborhood?

2.) I drive a vehicle (a good, strong, american-built one for sure...) that runs on diesel fuel. Should I refrain from smoking in my car and allowing others to smoke nearby? I have really been shaken by this article and am concerned.

3.) There is a farm not too far from where I live and the property owner has rebated fuel tanks in excess of 1000 gallons on his property. How can I determine that I am outside a safe radius in case of explosion? I fear that an explosion on this farmer's property might start a domino effect with my property and several others in the neighborhood known to heat homes and hot water with fuel oil.

I did not realize that there was such a danger in storing diesel oil, as it is non-evaporative in normal circumstances. I am surprised that this dangerous substance has been allowed so long without more serious, preventative government oversight.

Thanks for your quick response,

Ian"

I DO NOT expect to get a response to this, but if I do, I promise to post it.:D

Oh I can't wait to see if you get a responce to that.

IT was very well composed as well:cool:

Either blame the media or the county for the sensationalistic hype, but there were a couple of issues that are legit.
First, the man was running an unlicensed business from his garage.
Second, the man did not have any safe guards in place for runoff. Obvious spills on the driveway, for example, and nothing to contain the runoff.
Third, at present, they are investigating the type of diesel, with insinuations that it could be illegal for on road vehicles. (Possible off-road diesel)

As to the storage crap, it's just that, crap. Frickin' journalists looking for some angle and creating or blowing things way out of proportion.

Something special in Atlanta Drains?
 

"The fuel could have ignited a storm drain" said the fire chief.

As a Brit I was well aware that folks in Atlanta speak their own language, something other than English. Now I am discovering that the chemical properties of water in Atlanta are also special......

Probear, I guess I must have deleted that part before I posted. I do not disagree that he was allegedly running an illegal business, and if found guilty, should be penalized for such. My comments were supposed to be concerning the storage of this "highly dangerous" substance known as diesel.