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

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Little General Store September 2008 In this case, propane service technicians attempted to repair the tank only after the fire department had secured it and removed it from nearby buildings. 2.0 Propane Release and Fire Incidents 2.1 Sallis, Mississippi 2.1.1 Incident Description On May 13, 2007, a propane explosion occurred at the Longhorn’s Steak House in Sallis, Mississippi, while the restaurant was closed and two propane service technicians were transferring propane from an old 500-gallon tank into a new 500-gallon tank behind the building. The transfer procedure had been completed and the new tank was leak-tested and placed in service. The technicians next planned to remove the old tank (which still contained some propane) from the premises, but were unable to load it onto the service truck. They left and returned later in the day with a trailer. As the technicians were loading the old tank onto the trailer, it slid to one side, severing a valve at the bottom of the tank. The technicians heard a loud noise and saw liquid propane releasing from the bottom of the tank and forming a vapor cloud along the ground. They immediately ran toward the front of the building; the propane reached an unknown ignition source and a flash fire occurred seconds later. Another person who was near the front door of the restaurant at the time was badly burned in the flash fire. The building and a pickup truck parked in front were destroyed. Local volunteer fire departments responded, and the Mississippi State Fire Marshal’s office investigated. 2.1.2 Incident Responders The propane service technicians were from a local propane company. Although they had already completed a tank-to-tank transfer without incident, they immediately realized the danger of a liquid propane release from the damaged tank. Since the propane reached an ignition source only seconds after 72
Little General Store September 2008 the release began, the technicians were unable to evacuate the person in front of the restaurant before the flash fire. Both reported to investigators that they had attempted to do so. Local firefighters responded and reported the incident as a structure fire. The county sheriff’s department informed the State Fire Marshal’s Office that propane was involved, and LP Gas Division investigators completed the state’s report. 2.2 Danville, Alabama 2.2.1 Incident Description On May 20, 2008, three propane service technicians were attempting to perform a tank-to-tank transfer of liquid propane at a farm in Danville, Alabama, when a propane vapor release caused a flash fire. A 1,000-gallon propane tank at a chicken house was reported by property owners to be leaking around the pressure relief valve. Technicians were to replace the half-full tank with a new tank and transfer the remaining propane. The technicians removed the leaking tank from its installed location and placed it to the side, then set the new tank in its place. Employees next used the service truck boom to suspend the leaking tank upside down and at an angle, near the new tank. They planned to use the filler valve to evacuate the old tank, hooking it to a hose with a filler valve adaptor. However, damage to the filler valve caused it to stick in an open position and release propane vapor. The vapor reached the service truck, idling near the transfer location, and ignited setting fire to the chicken house. The town’s volunteer fire department was dispatched to a structure fire. When firefighters arrived, they discovered that the fire was due to a propane release. The firefighters then moved the three injured technicians away from the fire, used water to cool the propane tank, and approached the tank in full protective equipment to attempt to close the valve. They discovered that the valve had been sheared off entirely and withdrew, continuing to contain the fire to prevent it from reaching other propane tanks 73
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