Talk:1979 Warsaw gas explosion

A fact from 1979 Warsaw gas explosion appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 4 December 2011 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that 49 people died and 135 were injured in the 1979 Warsaw gas explosion?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2011/December. The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/1979 Warsaw gas explosion.

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Emergency response

The article states "emergency crews immediately began searching for people".

This is anything but true. It took about an hour before the police arrived and even longer for the ambulances and fire brigade. Dozens of civilians who happened to be around had been searching the rumble for survivors in the meanwhile, wondering why the authorities took so long. Part of the explanation might be that the explosion caused a terrible traffic congestion in centre, but there were also rumours at the time that the police feared a "second bomb".

I am the source of this infomation. I arrived at the scene some 5 or 10 minutes after the blast and I participated in the rescue efforts inside. Hence, if I edit the article I'd be violating the "no original research" WP rule. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.163.143.121 (talk) 16:24, 1 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I can second this. Coincidence brought me to the site just minutes after the explosion and I was busy digging with other civilians for at least half an hour before the first state rescue services arrived. Police were indeed first, and they were handfallen. My understanding of what was going on is a bit blurred because I was a tourist who didn't speak a word of Polish, but I do know for certain that lots of civilian passers-by had taken the situation in their hands and were searching for survivors, and that I personally dug up a number of dead from under piles of rubble and papers. When the police first arrived they were so lost that they took orders (instructions, if you prefer), from the more assertive civilians on the site. After about 15 minutes they gained control and begun to send the civilians off, and only then did the first firemen arrive. It took roughly an hour after the explosion and half an hour after the first arrival of police for security services to take full control of the site.

Wikipedia rules excude first-hand experience and own research as sources, so I'm not putting any of this on the article. Anyone who wishes to use my testimony as a reference in wikipedia can contact me at 'zp [at] qdh [dot] nl', then publish an article elsewhere, then use that as a secondary source here.

2001:980:540C:1:216:76FF:FE91:2064 (talk) 02:23, 1 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]