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Last modified:
October 1, 2008
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Liquid propane gas explodes into mushroom clouds at
Cortez Gas Co. on East Third Avenue in Truth or Consequences Jan. 7, as
viewed one mile west from the dead-end of West Third. Photo by Bill
Johnson |
Did
we learn anything in the aftermath
of
devastating Cortez LP tank explosions?
Photo & Editorial By Bill Johnson
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What did the people of Truth or
Consequences learn the last four and a half months following the Jan. 7
explosions and devastating fire that erupted and destroyed more than a dozen
homes and damaged other property up to a mile or two away after a runaway pizza
delivery truck plowed through a chain link fence and crashed into the large
liquid propane tank in the Cortez Gas Company yard on East Third Avenue?
In terms of safety, I’d say very little was
learned, or at least that’s the way it seems after this week’s photo shoot
of safety issues surrounding the storage of liquid propane and its various
bottled products in town. It is recklessness that imperiled the townspeople that
bleak night when a series of LP gas explosions ripped through the propane tank
storage yard, blasting out shock waves, debris and mushroom flames.
So, how do we prevent another disaster when state
regulations are so pervasive that elephants and giraffes could jump through
their loopholes, mainly the grandfather clause that allows prior poorer
standards to exist. State LP Gas Bureau officials say Cortez Gas Co. complied
with the state standards that applied when it opened its storage and retail
facility on East Third Avenue in 1985.
But the Cortez managers or owners should have known
of the potential dangers since
the pickup
truck belonging to
Tammy Selman, the Domino’s Pizza employee who worked
across the street from Cortez Gas Co., wasn’t the first vehicle to fall out of
gear and roll across Third into the Cortez facility where the only “barrier”
between traffic and the storage tanks was a flimsy chain link fence.
So what should we do to prevent this catastrophe
from happening again? The suggestion that LP gas companies pack up and head for
the remote, sparsely populated country is probably the least economically
feasible for the business although perhaps the best solution to keeping society
safe and snug.
However, another solution is to protect LP storage
tanks and bottles from vehicles by installing barriers strong enough to stop a
vehicle’s entry at speeds equivalent to at least the posted speed limit. In
the case of the Jan. 7 blast, it didn’t take much speed as the unattended
vehicle slowly traveled backwards down a slope at an angle from Domino’s to
Cortez Gas Co.
A retired fire inspector said he understands that
the National Fire Protection Association adopted a new standard for flammable
liquids. New code No. 58 calls for installing 4-inch diameter steel posts filled
with concrete. The 6-foot-long posts are to be buried three feet into the ground
and laid with three-foot centers between posts.
Furthermore, according to the retired inspector,
the storage
of propane tanks or
bottles should be at least 20 feet away from any opening
or doorway in a structure.
He said the cages used for the retail sale of LP
bottles are meant merely to prevent tampering of the bottles and were not
intended for vehicular protection. “The City of T or C and state inspector are
allowing Furr’s supermarket and True Value hardware to keep 20-pound bottles
in front of their stores without vehicular protection, such as the steel,
concrete-reinforced posts,” he said. “These bottles are filled and lack
safety measures.”
The inspector said he doesn’t recommend building
earth mounds in which to place large LP storage tanks. He said dirt berms are
useful for petroleum tanks as long as they have 1.5 times the capacity of the
tank they’re holding. But berms even with such capacity are not able to
contain liquid propane, which is more expansive than petroleum when it escapes
and LP gas also rolls and moves rapidly, he said.
Although the State of New Mexico may not require
these apparent new standards, the LP gas industry could take the more stringent
approach, protect its assets and prevent damage or destruction to their
neighbors’ properties and even save a life or two. Fortunately no one was
killed or seriously injured in the Jan. 7 blasts – a miracle in itself – but
who is to say it won’t happen again? It’s better to be safe than sorry and
dole out the extra bucks to make the improvements.
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More Cortez Fire Pictures |
The first seven black-and-white photos by Bill Johnson, taken in May 2001,
show safety concerns regarding the storage of liquid propane tanks and bottles
in the aftermath of a disaster at the start of the new year. The color photos in
the second through seventh rows and the first photo in the eighth row, all by
Bill Johnson, are of the Jan. 7, 2001, Cortez Gas Co. explosions and fire
fighting effort. The photo of the "big" explosion (eighth row, second
shot) that sent shock waves within a couple of miles radius is by contributor
Charles Swimmer, who said the blast almost knocked him off his roof about a mile
away. All of the remaining black and white photos in the eighth through last
rows are by former DJ Photographer David Pierre and were taken Jan. 7 (all
nighttime shots) and Jan. 8 (all daytime shots).
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