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XL Video Survives Buncefield Blast
Miraculously, XL Video’s Hemel Hempstead HQ sustained only superficial damage, despite being located just 600 metres from the epicentre of the Buncefield oil terminal explosion that triggered Europe’s biggest peacetime fire.
XL Video driver Martin Woolward was at XL on Sunday at the time of the first 6am blast, and a number of tour trucks were poised, ready to unload that morning. Within an hour, the area had been evacuated, preventing further access to the warehouse or any of the office facilities.
However, it was very much “business as usual” for XL’s 12 shows due to load in on the Monday morning! XL’s project managers were diverted as per their Disaster Recovery Plan to First Network in Northolt where directors and project managers were able to carry on with phone calls, planning, re-directing equipment and juggling the logistics to take into account the disruption caused by the blast.
“We accomplished everything we were expected to do by the end of Monday with provisions in place for all jobs up to the Friday,” said XL’s Malcolm Mellows. “Albeit some elements ran a little late!”
Meanwhile, managing director Lee Spencer dealt with building repairs and office restorations and ensuring that the required back up systems were running. ”The main warehouse door was blown off its runners and ended up inside the warehouse. Some windows were smashed and internal suspended ceilings brought down due to the shockwave, however the main structure and building exterior is intact,” he said.
XL Video successfully re-arranged and shipped shows on that Monday (12th December) including the CBeebies UK Tour, for the Cape Farewell Organisation in Oxford, a gala Dinner event at Koko’s in Camden Town and a five truck event for a Thomson Holidays event at the NEC.
Project manager Des Fallon comments: “We have been blessed and are grateful for the kind and practical offers of help we have received from all parts of the industry, particularly from transport companies and other major audio-visual suppliers.
“We want to thank all our customers for their understanding and patience during this upheaval and we appreciate their unwavering confidence in XL Video. We would especially like to thank Denis Georgiou and his team at First Network for all their help and support at such short notice.”
14th December 2005
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