Fatal Iowa Propane Explosion Investigation Cites Need For Improved Fire Fighter Training
The two fire fighters killed when a propane storage tank exploded at an Albert City, IA poultry farm on April 9, 1998, could have been saved by better training, vehicle barriers, and properly sized piping on an excess flow valve. The blast injured seven other emergency responders.
The propane explosion occurred when an all-terrain vehicle struck two pipes running from the 18,000-gallon tank that released propane and subsequently ignited, according to a report issued by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB). Fire fighter training materials recommended that responders to propane tank fires avoid the ends of horizontal tanks.
The Albert City fire fighters were positioned at the sides of the tank and believed that that they would not be struck by flying metal if the tank exploded. This incident, which involved a type of explosion known as a BLEVE, propelled pieces of the tank in all directions, killing and injuring emergency responders. The explosion could easily have caused numerous additional fire fighter fatalities, according to CSB investigators. A BLEVE, or boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion, can propel large pieces of metal great distances. In this incident, fire fighters were located much too close to the burning tank, investigators concluded.
CSB Chairman Paul L. Hill Jr., Ph.D., urged fire departments and fire fighter organizations to heed the lessons in the CSB report and help spread the information to fire fighters. "The fire service has always placed a high priority on fire fighter safety and training. The tragedy at the Herrig Brothers farm can have a positive outcome if, with the assistance of fire fighter organizations, the lessons learned from it are widely disseminated and, in so doing, help protect first responders when fighting future propane tank fires," Hill said.
The CSB report makes recommendations to the National Propane Gas Association and the Fire Service Institute of Iowa State University to improve fire fighter training materials for recognizing and responding to BLEVEs.
The CSB report also found that the design and installation of the propane tank storage and handling system were deficient. An excess flow valve designed to stop the release of propane in the event of a severed pipe did not function properly because a pipe that was too small had been installed downstream of the valve. In addition, the pipes that were struck and broken by the all-terrain vehicle were not protected from vehicle traffic as recommended by the National Fire Protection Association.
According to the CSB report, the Iowa State Fire Marshal's office provided inadequate regulatory oversight. The state fire marshal did not detect the deficiencies in the design and installation of the propane tank, and did not have a program in place to adequately monitor or inspect large propane storage facilities. The CSB report recommends, in part, that the state fire marshal conduct on-site inspections of large propane storage facilities.
The Chemical Safety Board is an independent federal agency with the mission of ensuring the safety of workers and the public by preventing or minimizing the effects of industrial and commercial chemical incidents. Congress modeled it after the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which investigates aircraft and other transportation accidents for the purpose of improving safety.