Overfilled Propane Cylinder Rupturing is Revealed as Cause of Auto Shop Explosion
The cause of a fatal shop explosion in 2023 has been revealed, reports The Times-Gazette.
The explosion took place Nov. 28, 2023, at Jimbo’s Auto Repair in Hillsboro. The Ohio Division of State Fire Marshal’s Fire and Explosion Investigations Bureau recently shared that the cause behind the explosion was a ruptured propane cylinder that was overfilled.
A portable 100-lb propane cylinder retrieved from the scene was determined to have failed and caused the explosion. A formal report from Fire and Materials Research Laboratory LLC and Elizabeth C. Buc, PhD, PE, said that a cylinder rupture likely took place before the explosion, releasing propane gas into the shop.
The rupture was triggered by the propane tank being overfilled, as well as expansion of the propane from ambient temperature changes. The safety relief valve did not relieve the pressure inside the tank, with internal pressure continuing to rise until the cylinder ruptured. There was no internal or external corrosion found within the cylinder wall, though the area surrounding its bottom dome was thinner.
The tank should not have been filled, said the report, as it had not been re-certified. Manufactured in 1950, it had been inspected once in 1979.
