I woke up twice at night when I lived next to the railway in London.
The first time was at 06:01, when there was a deep rumbling. I assumed a freight train had stopped outside for some reason, and was now accelerating hard.
The second time was a short while later, when my bedroom smelled like a bus depot and the sky had turned purple.
The first time was at 06:01, when there was a deep rumbling. I assumed a freight train had stopped outside for some reason, and was now accelerating hard.
The second time was a short while later, when my bedroom smelled like a bus depot and the sky had turned purple.
It turned out a fuel storage depot had exploded: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buncefield_fire
I fled, to my university library in central London, which fortunately wasn't covered in smoke.