LEBANON, Maine — A husband and wife were hospitalized with burns when a propane tank explosion that could be felt up to 10 miles away burned their camper at a southern Maine campground.
Lebanon Rescue Assistant Chief Jason Cole said crews were called to the Salmon Falls River Camping Resort in Lebanon shortly after 7:30 a.m. Saturday.
A woman in her 60s was flown to Maine Medical Center in Portland with serious burns. Her husband was taken to Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.H.
Cole said a second propane tank exploded while crews were there, and that a second camper was also destroyed.
The identities of the victims were not released, but Cole said they are from Missouri and had arrived at the campground Friday.
The state fire marshal’s office is investigating.
BLEVE-Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion- These explosions are rare, but deadly. It takes a lot to have one of these tanks explode. These cylinders have relief valves to let gas out if the tank becomes too hot. In many cases a fire causes the tank to explode-but that’s not what happened here apparently. May God bless them in their recovery.
I’m wondering if their tank was older and did not have an OPD valve, or if the integrity of the tank was going bad with rust on the bottom? If so, I wonder who the last fill location was to fill the tank – they could be in trouble. This is why it is so important to follow the regulations on tank safety if you fill tanks. You can’t fill tanks with any pitting from rust, or with the old valve style. If the tanks were new, then this is truly bizarre and one-in-a-million.
Apparently you have no idea what an OPD valve is. it stops it from being over filled. PERIOD.
Propane OPD valves operate inside the bottle and are activated as the liquid propane in the cylinder rises to a level that pushes a float upward stopping the flow of gas into the bottle. This action is similar to that of a float valve in a toilet; once the water in the bowl rises to a certain level, the flow of water stops. The OPD valve is only actuated during the filling process, not during operation. In other words, inverting a cylinder will cause an OPD float to actuate but it will not stop the flow of gas out of the cylinder. Why is this important to know? Because the OPD valve is not designed to restrict flow out of the cylinder, it’s only designed to stop flow into the cylinder during the filling process. OPD equipped propane cylinders will allow liquid propane into gas lines and hoses if tipped over or inverted. Overfill Prevention Devices are not a safety mechanism used or actuated during cylinder usage.
A quick google shows that you are the one who doesn’t know everything about OPD valves.
“OPD valves are also designed to only allow propane into and out of the
bottle if attached to the appropriate hose end connection.” Key word OUT.
“[T]here is a bushing behind
the mating nut that will melt when exposed to fire with temperatures
between 240 and 300 degrees. This melting allows a brass nipple inside
the mating nut to move about ¼ inch, closing a small piston inside the
OPD, totally shutting off the flow of propane.”
OPDs do not stop the filling when the tank is full. It stops the filling of the tank when it is 80% full. This allows for some expansion so that it is less likely to, eh, let me think, oh yes, explode.
You taught me absolutly nothing. .. already quite aware that if you open the valve of the propane tank with and opd device with nothing attached . gas will not flow out… there has been some assumption that this was the tank at issue, who even knows that it wasn’t a larger then 40# tank that is exempt from having a OPD device anyways. or a faulty regulator. .. AS I said. OPD valves are NOT a safety device and they serve no function other then during filling stopping the flow of gas into the tank.
Hope these folks have a speedy recoery. So sorry your vacation was ruined.
I’d like to know the Fire Chief’s determination of how this fire occurred. Tanks just don’t spontaneously explode. It could be a cautionary tale worth paying attention to. I do hope that everyone recovers with no lasting effects.
It didn’t say it was a second propane tank on the same trailer but that a different Trailer was destroyed. Two different tanks? Explosions felt ten miles away? More information…Please.