Town rocked by fuel tank blasts

March 1983

A SERIES of explosions rocked Bray last week as fuel storage tanks erupted during a major fire at a local garage.

Thousands of gallons of industrial and home-heating oil were lost in the blaze which broke out amont the tanks located at the rear of Ard Brae garage, Vevay Road, on Friday night.

Residents of nearby houses had to be evacuated as the fire caught hold. Two units of Bray Fire Brigade dealt with the emergency.

Nobody was injured in thee blaze, but firemen had to risk their lives in fighting flames in excess of 30 feet fed by fuel escaping from the tanks.

At one point, the firemen had to pull back to safety as the tanks exploded.

Feed-valves from the tanks were blown off in the explosions and the flames were fed by escaping fuel.

Extensive damage was caused to the adjacent stores area of the garage, and the effects of the blaze were still being assessed by owners on Monday.

One of the owners, Bill Kenny, praised the courage of the firemen who dealt with the blaze. ‘I could not praise them highly enough the way they fought the fire and risked their lives in doing it,’ he said.