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LITTLE GENERAL STORE - GHENT, WV PROPANE VAPOR EXPLOSION : 2007
aka Half an Hour to Tragedy
In January 2007, five individuals lost their lives, and five others sustained severe injuries following an explosion triggered by ignited propane vapors from a storage tank at the Little General convenience store and gas station in Ghent, West Virginia.
Propane served as the primary fuel source at the store and was suddenly released through a liquid withdrawal valve during a changeover between two tanks, resulting in the complete destruction of the building.
Watch the important video below to see what was learned from this tragedy.
https://youtu.be/JzdnUZReoLM
THE BIG TAKE AWAY FOR ALL PROPANE MARKETERS/RETAILERS AND THEIR CUSTOMERS:
Combined Conclusions
These two examples (Ghent, WV 2007 & IA Turkey Farm 1998) show the complex situations involving response to emergency situations and interaction between other people.
First responders do not have the benefit of hindsight when responding to an emergency situation. They must act quickly under a stressful situation, and cannot take for granted that propane or other chemical storage facilities are designed properly or people on site know what they are doing.
They must recognize quickly a potentially dangerous situation and not be afraid to set priorities especially if an immediate evacuation is required.
In Memory... 🩵
Accident: Little General Store Propane Explosion
Location: Ghent, WV
Accident Occurred On: 01/30/2007 Final Report Released On: 09/25/2008
Accident Type: Flammable Vapor
Investigation Status: The CSB's final report was approved by the Board at a public meeting in Beckley, West Virginia, on September 25, 2008.
🩵 🩵 Two propane technicians from Appalachian Heating, a firefighter and an emergency medical technician were among those killed when the explosion leveled the store.
Killed in the accident were:
🩵 Glenn R. Bennett, 44, of Appalachian Heating
🩵 Frederick Allen Burroughs, 51, of Cool Ridge, a Raleigh County building inspector and firefighter
🩵 Craig Lawrence Dorsey, 24, of MacArthur, a volunteer firefighter and EMT
🩵 Jeffrey Lee Treadway, 21, of Beckley
🩵 Donald Caldwell also passed away later from injuries he sustained in the explosion. He was also a firefighter at Ghent Area VFD.
LESSONS TAKEN FROM THIS EVENT
PROPANE MARKETER/RETAILER:
Ferrellgas (1 Recommendations)
Final Report Released On: September 25, 2008
2007-4-I-WV-12
Establish and implement a comprehensive safety management system that includes at a minimum:
- An auditing program developed in accordance with generally accepted methodologies to monitor the performance and effectiveness of safety management systems and personnel at all levels;
- An inspection program that uses NFPA 58 as a guide to systematically inspect all customer propane systems and identify all deficiencies;
- A means of tracking audits and inspections and identified deficiencies;
- A means of tracking corrective actions;
- A means of collecting and using audit and inspection data for trend analysis and organizational learning;
- A means of periodically reporting audit and inspection trends to the Board of Directors and Managing Board, and;
- A provision for periodic safety management system audits conducted by a third party competent in the requirements of NFPA 58
CREDITS:
PEAC ARISTATEK NEWSLETTER
https://www.aristatek.com/newsletter/jan09/JAN09ts.aspx
CSB (US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board)
https://www.csb.gov/little-general-store-propane-explosion/
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