NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 16

Dispatches Wide Shot

N AT U R A L G A S E X P L O S I O N S

GAS BLAST

A fatal explosion in a recently
renovated building rocks a small
Maine town
hen maintenance supervisor
Larry Lord entered the basement of the building where
he worked in the small town
of Farmington, Maine, on the
morning of September 16,
he smelled gas. Knowing such an odor could
indicate a leak in the building's on-site propane
tank, the 60-year-old immediately went upstairs and told the other occupants they needed to evacuate. Firefighters responded, and as
they and Lord were inspecting the property, an
explosion occurred.
Pictured here, the blast leveled the building-a recently renovated, two-story structure
that housed offices for an organization that
provides services to people with disabilities-
and left a blanket of debris across the site.
Veteran Farmington Fire Captain Michael Bell,
68, was killed instantly. Seven people were
hurt, including Lord and several others who
sustained life-threatening injuries. As of late
September, three of the men, including Lord,
remained hospitalized in conditions ranging
from fair to critical.
The blast was so strong that it could be
heard for miles and inflicted serious damage to
nearby properties, displacing 30 people.
According to the Portland Press Herald,
investigators said the blast was caused by a
leak in a propane line running from an underground storage tank into the building's heating
system, located in the basement. "Although
the cause of the leak is still undetermined, officials said the tank had been filled with nearly
400 gallons of propane on Friday, Sept. 13, but
was nearly empty Monday morning, before the
explosion," the paper reported.
A new Fire Protection Research Foundation
project is underway to study gas detection
technologies, work that will influence the
creation of a new NFPA standard on the same
subject. Read more at nfpa.org/dispatches by
clicking "Wide Shot" under "More News." -A.V.

W

16 | NFPA JOURNAL * N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 9


http://www.nfpa.org/dispatches

NFPA Journal - November/December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - November/December 2019

Contents
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - Cover1
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - Cover2
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 1
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 2
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 3
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - Contents
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 5
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 6
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 7
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 8
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 9
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 10
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 11
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 12
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 13
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 14
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 15
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 16
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 17
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 18
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 19
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 20
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 21
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 22
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 23
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 24
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 25
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 26
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 27
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 28
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 29
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 30
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 31
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 32
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 33
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 34
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 35
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 36
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 37
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 38
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 39
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 40
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 41
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 42
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 43
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 44
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 45
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 46
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 47
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 48
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 49
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 50
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 51
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 52
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 53
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 54
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 55
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 56
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 57
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 58
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 59
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 60
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 61
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 62
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 63
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 64
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 65
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 66
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 67
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 68
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 69
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 70
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 71
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 72
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 73
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 74
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 75
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 76
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 77
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 78
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 79
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NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 81
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NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 85
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 86
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 87
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 88
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - Cover3
NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - Cover4
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