The news reports from Farmington Maine are real scary. One firefighter killed and several more seriously injured. A maintenance worker smelled gas and got everybody out in time but the place went up when the fire department was approaching the building to look for a leak. No trace of the building except for the foundation and it took out too nearby mobile homes. One downside to propane is its heavier than air and can collect in low points so a slow leak can build up for hours until it hits the right fuel air ratio and ignition source. The building appears to have been insulated with cellulose so there is cellulose spread around the neighborhood.
Wow - Propane Explosion In Maine
- Thread starter peakbagger
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil. -
Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
SpaceBus
Minister of Fire
Folks with boats use compressed natural gas as the vapors are lighter than air so they disperse instead of settling into the bilges like propane does. Either way propane or CNG explosions are scary. The maine oil heating dealers association used to run ads about the safety of heating oil after significant gas explosions but they got called out for bad taste by the public and changed their advertising.
SpaceBus
Minister of Fire
That is a dirty move by the oil companies. I looked into CNG a while back, but there really isn't any infrastructure in Maine for it. A place I worked for briefly in NC used CNG fork trucks, but that's my only experience with it. When we lived in our RV for three years we heated, cooked, and heated water with propane from small (20-40 lb DOT cylinders) propane tanks and my wife hated it. Her mother is also terrified of compressed gasses, but they are also from New England, so this is making a lot more sense today.
