Leaking propane tank feeds flames

A fire of undetermined origin erupts as two tanks are being filled, severly damaging a house.

By RYAN MEEHAN
© St. Petersburg Times
published June 19, 2002

TAMPA -- A fire fueled by a leaky propane tank caused more than $100,000 damage to a Tampa house Tuesday, officials said.

Just before noon, Matthew Young, an employee for Bay Cities Gas Corp., was filling two liquid propane tanks at the home of Chuck Scogin on S Sherrill Street, officials said.

He had finished filling one of the 100-pound cylinders and had hooked up the second to his gas delivery truck when he noticed a leak. Officials said he tried to shut off the gas, but before he could, a fire flared up, reaching the edge of the home's roof.

While the cause of the fire had not been pinpointed, Tampa Fire Rescue spokesman Bill Wade said investigators have narrowed it down to two possibilities: a spark from an air-conditioning compressor or a spark from a nearby pilot light that helped heat Scogin's pool or hot tub.

Wade said investigators think the gas leak could have been caused by a shoddy O-ring.

Young tried to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher. No one was home at the time.

Young suffered minor burns on his hands from exposure to the extremely cold gas, Wade said, but he was not taken to the hospital.

"It burned the whole roof off," Wade said. "The house is essentially destroyed as are a lot of its contents."

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