Hazard ID: fire fighting hazards during propane tank fires

Details

• Personal Author:
  Braddee, Richard W. ; Flesch, Jerome P. ; Washenitz FC II
• Description:
  On April 15, 1998, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) investigated the line-of-duty deaths of two volunteer fire fighters (Report No. 98F14). The investigation was part of the NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program. Both fire fighters were part of a volunteer fire department that responded to an 18,000-gallon bulk propane tank fire. The fire started after unprotected external piping from the tank was struck by an all-terrain vehicle and the propane vapors were ignited by a pilot flame from a nearby vaporizer. Upon arrival at the fire scene, the firefighters watered down the buildings adjacent to the propane tank and allowed the tank to burn itself out, since the tank was venting. About 8 minutes after the fire fighters arrived, the tank exploded, separated into four parts, and flew in four directions. The two fire fighters (who were approximately 105 feet from the tank) were struck by a piece of the exploding tank and killed instantly. Six other fire fighters and a deputy sheriff were injured as a result of the explosion. Such explosions may occur whenever flames contact propane tanks. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Emergencies Explosions Firefighters Fires Hazardous Substances Mortality Occupational Health Propane Safety Staff Development

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• Keywords:
  Accident-prevention Emergency-response Explosive-gases Fire-fighting Fire-hazards Flammable-gases Hazardous-materials Mortality-data Propanes Storage-containers Training Work-practices

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• ISSN:
  1047-322X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research ; EID - Education and Information Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  16
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040168
• Citation:
  Appl Occup Environ Hyg 2001 Jul; 16(7):721-722
• CAS Registry Number:
  Propane (CAS RN 74-98-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2001
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:31e939417beefa15b694c9bf8b1c1156fc773df0213fd2e0a9755b67837f97c41e8b2c91ecc7a10e80c1a343e00d15b8ef885add2546b0b9c9ad6bd968acaf32
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193123/cdc_193123_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 196.90 KB ]