Little General Store Propane Explosion - US Chemical Safety and ...

Little General Store September 2008
A deliveryman in the store at about 10:30 am told the CSB that he smelled a strong odor and that the store
employees’ eyes were watering. The Little General cashier, concerned about the odor, went outside to
check on the junior technician. The cashier told the CSB that she saw him standing between the tank and
his service truck within a dense vapor cloud, 15 but that he told her he was “okay.”
At 10:40 am, the junior technician called 911 to summon help from emergency services (see transcript in
Appendix B). He reported to the 911 operator that he had a leaking propane tank at the Little General in
Ghent and needed the fire department’s assistance to secure the area. The 911 operator collected this
information, clarified the location, and ended the call.
After the 911 call, the junior technician called the lead technician again. The cashier checked on the
junior technician a second time, finding him in the same location between the tank and truck. Figure 4 is
an event timeline prior to the lead technician’s return.
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Propane is a colorless gas. A liquid release from a tank forms a dense white cloud of visible propane liquid
droplets that then evaporate.
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