Staff report
KANNAPOLIS ó An effort to clean up a lot on 22nd Street almost turned into a disaster when a propane tank began spewing liquid ó near a burning brush pile.
Firefighters from the Mount Mitchell Volunteer Fire Department and the Rowan Hazmat Team responded to the incident around 2 p.m. Friday at 905 East 22nd St.
Mount Mitchell Chief Robert Earnhardt said a contractor operating a Bobcat device on an adjacent lot accidently knocked over a 500-gallon propane tank at a vacant home. A copper line on the tank broke.
Earnhardt said the equipment operator reported hearing gas erupting from the line for a minute or so but said he thought it had stopped. He loaded up his equipment and left.
Minutes later, the residents of 920 East 22nd St. heard a spewing sound and began looking for the source.
They found liquid propane rushing out of the tank and called 911.
Firefighters quickly blocked off the street and evacuated the one occupied home nearby.
Firefighters also quickly doused a burning brush pile an estimated 40 feet from the propane tank.
Earnhardt said the combination of spilling propane and the nearby fire was a recipe for disaster.
“The house wouldn’t have been here or the fire department,” said Earnhardt, explaining that the vapor from liquid propane travels low to the ground. “The container (propane tank) is just like a grenade if it blows up.”
The Hazmat crew turned off the gas line and secured the scene.
Thomas Gas Co. of Concord responded and hauled off the tank.
Emergency crews were on the scene for around two hours.