Propane Explodes At Unconcious

Big explosion last night.My ambulance driver friend said two hurt real bad...anyone know details? Not sure of the details here but as we have discussed many times propane line construction best practices in Mexico put all of us at danger...

Scary stuff. Similar thing happened in Encanto a few years back. Started as a house fire, we went to check it out and as we pulled up the propane tank blew. Massive explosion and fireball, thought we were toast. Reminded me of what fear tastes like...

Landshark said:

Scary stuff. Similar thing happened in Encanto a few years back. Started as a house fire, we went to check it out and as we pulled up the propane tank blew. Massive explosion and fireball, thought we were toast. Reminded me of what fear tastes like...

When the gun men put the guns on me last March behind the Santo Tomas fish camp I tasted real fear for the first time in maybe 25 years....tasted like burnt toast and maybe Sulfur

Hope the people hurt will recover. The rest can be rebuilt. Burns are nothing less than insanity.

I wonder if it had anything to do w/ New Years Eve and fireworks- propane and firecrackers are a scary combination.

House was hacienda del mar rented by oceanos, pic's and story at rockypoint 360 facebook page.

This sounds like a terrible tragedy. Power goes off at 3am, when it comes back on an hour later the house is demolished by a massive propane explosion. Bad thermocouple? People were most likely sleeping and awoke to the nightmare of the explosion. Can't even imagine...

Found this about the injured people...

They are in a hospital in Phoenix. She is in critical condition and has had 2 surgeries, but is now breathing on her own. She has skull, thoracic, and arm fractures, a small brain bleed, and some internal bleeding--not organ damage, to my knowledge. Please pray for full mental and physical recovery. Her husband's hip was badly broken, and he had several deep lacerations, but he is alert and had a successful hip replacement yesterday. Both of them are making progress, and their children are with them.

Many thanks to the wonderful neighbors who pulled our friends from the wreckage and the medical teams who stabilized them and got them transported safely to Phoenix. Please pray for our friends.

jerry said:

Big explosion last night.My ambulance driver friend said two hurt real bad...anyone know details? Not sure of the details here but as we have discussed many times propane line construction best practices in Mexico put all of us at danger...

Thoughts Jerry??
Car hits a pole at 3am causing power outage. People in the house probably sleeping and didn't know anything happened. Assume something like a propane furnace malfunctioned when thermostat called for heat, turned on gas flow but without power didn't light. Thermostat keeps unit on/gas flowing because no heat to satisfy it. Power restored by utility company an hour later, ignition occurs in furnace, massive explosion occurs. Defective thermocouple or controller in furnace??? How would a person ever know there was a problem? Only defense may be a propane detecting alarm device. Home Depot sells them cheap, 85 db alarm...

Great idea ..also switch every thing off so no surge occurred,turn off propane at the tank too...maybe even open windows.... everything is pretty much Irish rigged in those older beach houses...

Most likely Jerry rigged because gas heating units have built in protections for such situations.

JimMcG said:

Most likely Jerry rigged because gas heating units have built in protections for such situations.

Thats what I think also, just like a water heater safety protected.

Any reports on the two individuals in the hospital?

In honor of Jerry I will go with "Irish Rigged"

WORD on the street is that some work had been done on the gas line recently and a leaking joint was fixed by wrapping it with tape. A neighbor, first responder reported that the ambulance staff started to pick up one of the victims, like a rag doll. Personwho had medical training objected to the bad technique and the police were called to stop the interference.

At Santo Tomas the half-assed installs used galvanized pipe...more than one house had leaks...just luck no one blew up

jerry said:

At Santo Tomas the half-assed installs used galvanized pipe...more than one house had leaks...just luck no one blew up

What's wrong with using galvanized pipe?

PintoPoint said:

What's wrong with using galvanized pipe?

It rusts underground and some believe zinc end up flaking

jerry said:

It rusts underground and some believe zinc end up flaking

That makes sense. I used stainless for the small part outside. Black pipe inside but I have a lot of galvanized fitting I have been using.

Jury-rigged!

Landshark said:

Jury-rigged!

In a pinch that could come in handy!

Got to love that Breaker.
:eek:

Anyone ever figure out what ever caused this explosion? Really awful situation.

JMGChi said:

Anyone ever figure out what ever caused this explosion? Really awful situation.

Probably never will know what happened. Power goes off and explosion occurs when it comes back on says a lot. Best bet is to take precautions in case of a malfunction or leak. We just bought 2 of these and plugged them in next to our furnaces. Will sleep a little better...

I spoke with 2
guys working there a couple weeks ago. They said the tank did not blow up , it was propane pooling that exploded. Made a real mess out of a Toyota Tundra parked there.I hope those people recover. I converted my house to all electric years ago due to a propane malfunction. My neighbors have not and those big rusty propane tanks make me nervous.

We had the same thoughts about the rusty tanks so we had them painted. The cleaned the rust off of them before painting with an electric drill equipped with a wire wheel. They didn't seem worried about the
sparks. :confused:

Landshark said:

We had the same thoughts about the rusty tanks so we had them painted. The cleaned the rust off of them before painting with an electric drill equipped with a wire wheel. They didn't seem worried about the
sparks. :confused:

Its probably the rust that is inside that you might be worried about?

I bet it was un coated galvanized steel pipe. Galvanized would never beapproved for use as buried gas pipe. Galvanized steel is rust resistant, but it is definitely not rust proof. This is why galvanized water pipes in old homes are usually replaced after 30 or 40 years.

JoseAz said:

Its probably the rust that is inside that you might be worried about?

Good point, but not sure how to inspect for rust or what to do if it was rusty. After reading, it does appear they rust internally. The tanks have been in service for 16 years and it says all propane tanks are date stamped and have an expiration date. The 5 gal gas grill tanks expire after 12 yrs and require recertification. Not sure yet about the large tanks, but probably will have to replace them at some point.

I was told that they will not refuel a tank more than 1o years old

fatboyharley said:

I was told that they will not refuel a tank more than 1o years old

They're probably right but they have never mentioned it to us. Still filling them, and my guess is they are dated year 2000 or before.

http://www.anodesystems.com/Cathodic_Protection/Underground_Pipe_and_Propane_Tank_Cathodic_Protection.html Complicated stuff....By friend Bill Sisson installed in new construction in Tucson for 30 years and had a place in Cholla before moving to Santo Tomas thinks it is flat out crazy to replace a propane tank....just buy a electric water heater and stove and switch over....why live with a bomb next to your house?

I bought a new 120 liter tank, that's sitting unfilled in my garage, makes me think about not using it.
Or hooking it up outside and plan on replacing it at 20 years.

Currently we use a 5 gal propane bottle for, one water heater and my stove set-up, it lasts us about 15 days. I prefer cooking with gas.
A recent bath/bedroom addition has a electric water heater.

The tank stays in my garage when we leave and I rotate it every 2-3 years with a new one.

The injured couple are from Bayfield, CO and are still recuperating in Phoenix. http://www.pinerivertimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20170215/PRT01/170219930/-1/prt/Community-Cares-5K-to-benefit-Bulwans

If you want to follow their progress, you can check this website. It requires setting up a password. https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/jimandlornabulwan All things considered, sounds like they are doing pretty well.

http://kval.com/outdoors/efforts-continue-to-identify-victims-cause-of-fatal-fire. Near my summer place sits the dinged up high end Tammarack ski resort.Stinking propane...my friend almost bought the house next door last year...

Burying a propane tank seems a little sketchy to me. I like to keep an eye on ours watching for rust or anything else out of the ordinary. If an above ground tank developed a small leak you would be able to smell it, below ground probably not. Seems like the wet dirt would create major rusting and what do you do when the certification expires, dig it up??

We had a close call yesterday in La Cholla. a propane delivery truck hit one of the CFE poles at the entrance to Cholla knocking it mostly over but killing power to Cholla and parts if not all of Sandy Beach. CFE was on it and a few hours later everything came back on. I am glad that the electric didn't explode the truck....