CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Safety board investigators urged West Virginia to begin requiring training and licensing of propane tank technicians, provide annual hazardous materials training for firefighters and other emergency responders, and improve the guidance 911 dispatchers have available to give callers who report propane accidents.
Watch an animated reenactment of the explosion
Read the Chemical Safety Board's draft report
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - At about 10:25 a.m. on Jan. 30, 2007, Jeffrey Treadway twisted the metal plug off a valve on the top of a 500-gallon propane tank at the Little General Store near Ghent.
Propane shot out of the valve opening. Liquid and vapor propane made its way through attic vents and ceiling tiles, and began to fill the Raleigh County convenience store.
Treadway, 21, of Beckley, had never been formally trained by his company, Appalachian Heating, to deal with propane leaks. He'd been on the job just 1 1/2 months. He called his supervisor, and then 911. Little General employees closed the store, but stayed inside the building.
Twenty-two minutes later, firefighters began arriving. Within a few more minutes, they tried to evacuate the area.
But at about 10:53 a.m., a huge explosion leveled the Little General. Treadway and another Appalachian Heating worker, 44-year-old Glenn Ray Bennett of Beckley, were killed. So was Ghent volunteer firefighter Frederick Allen Burroughs, 51, of Cool Ridge, and fire department EMT Craig Lawrence Dorsey, 24, of MacArthur. Six other people were injured.
Now, a broad-ranging report by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board has concluded that it didn't have to happen.
If Treadway had been properly trained, he might have noticed propane spraying out of a small hole in the valve, a sign the valve was broken. Had local emergency responders been instructed better, they could have evacuated the area more quickly.
And if the propane tank had been installed at least the required 10 feet from the store - or if the improper placement had been noticed on any of dozens of inspections - the accident could have been avoided, the board found.
Safety board investigators urged West Virginia to begin requiring training and licensing of propane tank technicians, provide annual hazardous materials training for firefighters and other emergency responders, and improve the guidance 911 dispatchers have available to give callers who report propane accidents.
"We're attacking this issue on every front, so that something like this doesn't happen again," said Robert Hall, the board's investigations supervisor.
The board is an independent federal agency charged with investigating chemical accidents. The board does not issue citations or fines, but makes safety recommendations to plants, industry organizations, labor groups and regulatory agencies.
Little General Store Inc. and Appalachian Heating both were cited by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Little General paid $4,500 in fines and Appalachian $6,000, according to OSHA records.
The companies also settled civil lawsuits filed by the families of those who were killed and by those who were injured. Settlement terms have not been made public.
Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper, a Charleston lawyer who represented Dorsey's family, urged state officials to move quickly in adopting the safety board's recommendations.
"The state of West Virginia needs to pass some laws," Carper said.
Lara Ramsburg, communications director for Gov. Joe Manchin, said administration officials are reviewing the board's report.
"We will have the appropriate state agencies work with the industry to develop the necessary safeguards and if necessary work with the Legislature to ensure the appropriate requirements are placed in law," Ramsburg said Thursday.
Ferrellgas acquired the Little General tank in 1996, when it bought out another company, Southern Sun. Southern Sun originally installed the tank sometime in late 1994.
Watch an animated reenactment of the explosion
Read the Chemical Safety Board's draft report
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - At about 10:25 a.m. on Jan. 30, 2007, Jeffrey Treadway twisted the metal plug off a valve on the top of a 500-gallon propane tank at the Little General Store near Ghent.
Propane shot out of the valve opening. Liquid and vapor propane made its way through attic vents and ceiling tiles, and began to fill the Raleigh County convenience store.
Treadway, 21, of Beckley, had never been formally trained by his company, Appalachian Heating, to deal with propane leaks. He'd been on the job just 1 1/2 months. He called his supervisor, and then 911. Little General employees closed the store, but stayed inside the building.
Twenty-two minutes later, firefighters began arriving. Within a few more minutes, they tried to evacuate the area.
But at about 10:53 a.m., a huge explosion leveled the Little General. Treadway and another Appalachian Heating worker, 44-year-old Glenn Ray Bennett of Beckley, were killed. So was Ghent volunteer firefighter Frederick Allen Burroughs, 51, of Cool Ridge, and fire department EMT Craig Lawrence Dorsey, 24, of MacArthur. Six other people were injured.
Now, a broad-ranging report by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board has concluded that it didn't have to happen.
If Treadway had been properly trained, he might have noticed propane spraying out of a small hole in the valve, a sign the valve was broken. Had local emergency responders been instructed better, they could have evacuated the area more quickly.
And if the propane tank had been installed at least the required 10 feet from the store - or if the improper placement had been noticed on any of dozens of inspections - the accident could have been avoided, the board found.
Safety board investigators urged West Virginia to begin requiring training and licensing of propane tank technicians, provide annual hazardous materials training for firefighters and other emergency responders, and improve the guidance 911 dispatchers have available to give callers who report propane accidents.
"We're attacking this issue on every front, so that something like this doesn't happen again," said Robert Hall, the board's investigations supervisor.
The board is an independent federal agency charged with investigating chemical accidents. The board does not issue citations or fines, but makes safety recommendations to plants, industry organizations, labor groups and regulatory agencies.
Little General Store Inc. and Appalachian Heating both were cited by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Little General paid $4,500 in fines and Appalachian $6,000, according to OSHA records.
The companies also settled civil lawsuits filed by the families of those who were killed and by those who were injured. Settlement terms have not been made public.
Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper, a Charleston lawyer who represented Dorsey's family, urged state officials to move quickly in adopting the safety board's recommendations.
"The state of West Virginia needs to pass some laws," Carper said.
Lara Ramsburg, communications director for Gov. Joe Manchin, said administration officials are reviewing the board's report.
"We will have the appropriate state agencies work with the industry to develop the necessary safeguards and if necessary work with the Legislature to ensure the appropriate requirements are placed in law," Ramsburg said Thursday.
Ferrellgas acquired the Little General tank in 1996, when it bought out another company, Southern Sun. Southern Sun originally installed the tank sometime in late 1994.
Headquartered in Overland Park, Kan., Ferrellgas is the second largest marketer of propane in the United States. The company has more than a million customers in all 50 states.
Ferrellgas refilled the Ghent propane tank about 14 times per year. Over the 10 years that Ferrellgas owned the tank, its drivers would have performed more than 100 pre-fill inspections.
Drivers told safety board investigators that they believed the tank was permitted to be within 10 feet of the building because it was "grandfathered," had received some sort of a variance, or because there was no other place to put it. Board investigators found that Ferrellgas managers did not perform follow-up inspections or audits.
Ferrellgas spokesman Scott Brockelmeyer said the company doesn't believe the tank's location caused the accident, but that Farrell has taken steps to improve its oversight of tank placement.
Starting in 2006, Little General switched its propane contract from Ferrellgas to Thompson Gas and Electric Service Inc. Appalachian Heating had been hired by Thompson to handle installation and maintenance of its propane tanks.
A week prior to the Ghent explosion, Appalachian Heating installed a new tank at a Little General location in Alderson. The old Ferrellgas tank that was replaced was also located closer than the 10-foot limit, board investigators said.
On the day of the explosion, Treadway was performing the same job at the Ghent store. He wanted to empty about 350 gallons of propane left in the old Ferrellgas tank into the new Thompson Gas tank, investigators believe.
Initially, Treadway was working with a more experienced and better trained Appalachian technician. But that man left to make a delivery 30 miles away, board investigators found.
Because of his lack of training, Treadway likely did not pick up on a "telltale sign" that the valve was defective. The safety plug has a small hole through which propane may be seen leaking if the valve is stuck open before the safety plug is fully removed.
Board investigators did not recommend any sort of recall on the type of valve involved. The specific valve is no longer made, and its manufacturer went out of business, board officials said.
Safety board officials said their main concern was to improve training and licensing requirements for everyone who deals with propane, from truck drivers and technicians to firefighters and 911 dispatchers.
In West Virginia and 35 other states, there are no requirements for training or licensing of propane technicians. Firefighters in West Virginia receive hazardous materials training just once, when they first start on the job. There is no annual or other regular refresher training required.
"There is a need for training of both firefighters and technicians so they may work together to safely deal with propane releases that threaten the lives of residents, workers, and responders," said board chairman John Bresland.
About two months before the Ghent explosion, a propane leak and explosion killed three workers at an industrial facility in Milwaukee. Since the Ghent blast, safety board investigators looked into at least five similar incidents across the country.
On an average day, at least one hazardous materials accident involving propane is reported somewhere in the United States, the board found. But around the country, the propane industry remains mostly unregulated, something that the board hopes will change.
"Our recommendations are holistic in approach," board lead investigator Jeffrey Wanko said. "We're trying to change this industry."
Tim Bailey, a lawyer for the Bennett family, said his clients were pleased with the safety board's report.
"It is our hope that with the publication of this report any other businesses that both supply or use propane will read this report and examine their operations to see if any of these deficiencies exist at their businesses and then take necessary corrective actions so that no other families have to go through what these families have gone through," Bailey said.
Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kw...@wvgazette.com or 348-1702.
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