- Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived September 30, 2005) by the Discovery Channel
- Temple Street Productions
- Blueprint for Disaster at IMDb
| Blueprint for Disaster | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Seconds from Disaster (UK) |
| Genre | Documentary Disaster |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Production company | Temple Street Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | Discovery Channel Canada |
| Release | 2004 – 2008 |
Blueprint for Disaster is a Canadian documentary television series that premiered in 2004 on Discovery Channel Canada. Produced by Temple Street Productions, the program investigates why and how various disasters have happened. Toronto-based Voice Artist Adrian Bell provided the narration for the first series. The show also aired in the UK under the title Seconds from Disaster. As of 2008[update], two seasons have been produced.[1]
| № | # | Title | Date of disaster | Disaster | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Inferno at Kaprun" | November 11, 2000 | Kaprun disaster | 155 skiers die in a fire at Kaprun Ski Resort. The deadly chain of events was caused by a heater in the rear attendant's cabin that also affected the alpine station 2 kilometres above the tunnel. |
| 2 | 2 | "The Crash at Eschede" | June 3, 1998 | Eschede train disaster | A train derails, killing 101 people. Each wheel and carriage had to be re-engineered and replaced as a result of the incident. |
| 3 | 3 | "The Collapse of Big Blue" | July 14, 1999 | Big Blue collapse at Miller Park | A gigantic crane (Lampson Transi-Lift 3 nicknamed Big Blue) standing at 567 ft toppled while manoeuvring a 450-ton roof section at Miller Park Stadium in Milwaukee, killing three workers and causing damage to the stadium. |
| 4 | 4 | "The Sampoong Collapse" | June 29, 1995 | Sampoong Department Store collapse | Seoul's posh Sampoong department store collapsed in 20 seconds with more than 1,500 people inside. Investigators discover secrets in the original blueprint that explain the collapse. |
| 5 | 5 | "The Mystery of the Derbyshire" | September 10, 1980 | MV Derbyshire | A ship vanishes without any trace. The investigation took 20 years before the cause of the tragedy was determined beyond doubt. |
| 6 | 6 | "The Kings Cross Disaster" | November 18, 1987 | King's Cross fire | A fire kills 31 people at the Kings Cross station. Investigators spend months trying to explain the fire's unusual pattern, which they determined was started by a smoker's match. |
| № | # | Title | Date of disaster | Disaster | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | "Explosion at Enschede" | May 13, 2000 | Enschede fireworks disaster | In Enschede, the Netherlands the S.E. Fireworks storage compound situated in a residential neighbourhood catches fire and explodes, killing 22 (4 firefighters and 18 civilians) and injuring more than 1,000. There were two explosions, with the first explosion equivalent to 800 kg TNT and the second was equivalent to just under 5,000 kg of TNT. The facility was authorized to hold 1.4G grade fireworks but actually contained quantities of 1.1G grade fireworks, adding to this, the facility was overloaded at the time. |
| 8 | 2 | "Off the Rails" | January 31, 2003 | Waterfall rail accident | A four-carriage double-decker passenger train derails in New South Wales, Australia and slams into a rock face, killing 7 people. |
| 9 | 3 | "Wreck of The Rocknes" | January 19, 2004 | MV Rocknes | The MV Rocknes, a 166m long fallpipe vessel, hit a shallow and suddenly capsized south of Bergen, Norway, killing 18 of 30 crew. |
| 10 | 4 | "Destruction in the Desert" | May 4, 1988 | PEPCON disaster | At the Pacific Engineering and Production Company (PEPCON) in Henderson, Nevada which manufactures ammonium perchlorate (used in solid rocket fuel) has two massive explosions and damages an area 10 miles wide with 2 fatalities and 300+ people injured. The first explosion measured 3 on the Richter scale while the second measured 3.5 (equal to 1.5 million pounds of TNT). A Las Vegas airport (7 miles away) reported broken windows. |
| 11 | 5 | "Hong Kong Inferno" | November 20, 1996 | Garley Building fire | In the deadliest building fire disaster in Hong Kong's history, hundreds of workers are trapped in the top floors of a 16-storey commercial tower. 41 people died, 81 others were injured. |
| 12 | 6 | "San Juan Explosion" | November 21, 1996 | Humberto Vidal explosion | A foul smell hangs around in the Humberto Vidal Shoe Store. After an air conditioner is switched on, the store explodes. |