Inspection Detail

Inspection: 311691711 - Ixl Propane Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Or-E-Portland - Safety 1 1054111

Investigation Summary

At 10:30 a.m. on November 30, 2007, Employee #1 and two other workers were doing maintenance on one of the company's tanker trailers involving the installation of new valves. They had removed the valves from the belly of the tanker trailer, when a series of flash fires occurred (about five minutes after removing the valve). The flash fire caught the garage on fire, and the building was significantly burned. It was believed that residual propane vapors escaped through the open hole, where the valves were removed, and migrated to an ignition source in the garage. The likely source of ignition was the pilot flame for the gas water heater in the northwest corner of the garage (approximately 15 feet away). There was no evidence that any of the three men were doing any spark producing work. All three employees had their backs to the truck at the time of ignition. Employee #1 described two flashes; a smaller initial flash and a second flash from the heating of the tank and its contents by the initial fire. The second flash caught Employee #1's clothing on fire. The other two employees were not burned. Employee #1 was burned significantly on much of his body (hands, forearms, face, and back) and was hospitalized for days.

Keywords: BURN, TANK TRUCK, MAINTENANCE, FLAMMABLE VAPORS, FIRE, MECHANIC, BACK, PROPANE, FACE, HAND