Gas Station Explosion In Cardiff,ID

One situation I am familiar with, though not directly involved in.

Truck was unloading, did not connect a vapor line. The location had undergone a remodel and a vapor retrofit. Apparently the retrofit did not work well, so tank wagon drivers did not follow procedures and did not hook up a vapor line, as it made offloading a problem. According to the report, the vapor fumes collected in a back area, where the compressor was located. When they turned on the power to the compressor, it caused a flash over explosion. Fortunately no one was injured, but did a fair amount of damage to the building.

 

Bet that was real exciting real quick!

 

That would be Darwin doing his thing.
The unfortunate aspect being that someone else’s stupid got innocent bystanders injured or perished.
We train our new drivers properly, and stress safety above all, but ultimately it’s a driver’s decisions and actions while delivering.
Those vapors are no joke.
And it’s the ignorant fools in close proximity that are the ignition danger in most instances.

 

I bet it can be pretty stressful sometimes re fueling a busy place that keeps the pumps going and traffic flowing. I’ve always wondered why with all the osha regulations they allow the pumps to stay on while the drop is being done.

 

Best guess is it’sa closed system.
Underground tanks, grounded well, vapor recovery system, it’s about as safe as it can be when used properly.
The pickup to the pumps is about 3 inches from the bottom in the main tank, and reputable stations maintain their tanks very well. biggest concern is water, especially in diesel.
Truck stops generally push so much fuel through their system that it doesn’t have a chance to have problems.
It’s the stations that receive 3000 gallons once a month that are problematic. They usually don’t care about their tank systems or are too broke to do so.
Example- one store i deliver to, i have to pump out their regular e10 tank about once a year because of water and trash in the tank, and the stuff i remove goes to a recycler that has to separate the water and solids from it before recycling it.
Their tank ports are in the worst possible spot in the lot, and the port caps are missing or broken. I tell them every time, write it up and advise dispatch, and the supplier is notified, yet nothing is done. it costs them about 7 grand every time i have to pump it out…. You’d think they’d learn.
2 trucks, 2 drivers, 4 hours on site plus 8 hours to dispose of the polluted stuff, plus a trailer wash out… it’s by far the worst i know of.