Fire at Thunder Valley

kelloggs5TLfan

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By Amy Hunter
Reporter / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: May 24, 2008
http://www.tricities.com/tri/news/l...and_fire_causes_confusion_little_damage/9944/

BRISTOL, Tenn. – A fiery explosion at the Bristol Dragway on Saturday sparked a flurry of excitement and speculation that forced track officials to halt an ongoing event.
“The bang was amazing. Flames went all the way up to the billboard, ” said Ike Heckler Jr. of IH Racing, who was at the dragway registering for an evening drag race.
No injuries were reported.
Spectators said they heard two blasts at Thunder Valley around 3:40 p.m. At first, many thought one of the race cars had exploded.
Dragway firefighters rushed to the explosion scene as flames burst up from a concession stand, Heckler said.
The crowd buzzed for about 10 minutes while firefighters fought the blaze. Then, a second boom reverberated through the dragway, Heckler said. No one seemed to know what was going on.
Dragway officials immediately stopped competition in the World Footbrake Challenge, which involves drag racing without the use of electronic equipment to aid the start – only the car’s footbrake is allowed.
Heckler rushed to the fire as the Bristol Tennessee Fire Department zoomed in to help. “The fire started the melt the side of the [concession stand,]” he said.
Firefighters were quickly able to control the blaze and word spread that no car had exploded. The mood settled as the crowd learned the first boom was caused by four propane tanks that exploded after the French fry cooker in the concession stand caught on fire, BTFD Lt. Harry Wine said.
The second boom was the sound of a faulty hose that burst when the track fire crew began fighting the flames, officials said.
Damage was limited to the concession stand, Wine said.
By 4:15, the races resumed and the crowds filed back into the stands.
Dragway officials and lingering witnesses were light-hearted after the scare and many gathered laughing and cracking jokes.
“This was actually a publicity stunt we planned to promote ‘Night of Fire’ on Friday,” joked one track official.
 
Man...........they're lucky no one was hurt. Who was the idiot that put the propane tanks next to the deep fryer?
 
probably the guy that didnt wanna run 20 foot of lines..or maybe just forgot to put a backflow device in there...hard to say?
 
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