Early this morning, around 6:30 A.M., a 70-year-old man in Kissimmee was rushed to the hospital with 1st degree burns when a propane tank in his home exploded in his garage. The Osceola County man was cooking in his kitchen, when a propane tank exploded knocking out a wall. The man’s wife was also in the house during the explosion, but fortunately she was uninjured. WFTV has raw video footage of the house, which clearly shows signs of damage including a buckled garage door and blown out windows. (Photos can be seen here). Officials are saying the neighborhood is lucky the house contained the explosion, no other surrounding houses were affected.
While this is on a much smaller scale than the Blue Rhino propane facility explosion in July in Tavares, Florida, you still need to act with caution when using any propane gas. The U.S. fire departments “respond to an estimated annual average of 1,170 home structure fires involving LP-gas in 2003-2007. These fires resulted in 34 civilian deaths, 135 civilian injuries and $48 million in direct property damage.”
Before using propane, make sure you understand the safety precautions and how to handle a propane tank. The Florida Propane Gas Education, Safety and Research Council has a great article on safety guidelines to get you started! If you think that a faulty propane tank has affected you, please contact us to help answer some questions.