A large series of explosions rocked a gas plant in Lake County late
Monday, causing multiple casualties and forcing the evacuations of
residents at least a mile away, authorities said.
Twenty-four people were working the night shift at Blue Rhino, a propane-tank business. By 2 a.m. Tuesday, all employees were unaccounted for, said Lt. John Herrell, a Sheriff's Office spokesman.
There were no reports of fatalities, Herrell said.
The total number of injured
was not immediately known, but two men were flown to Orlando Regional
Medical Center with burns, a hospital spokeswoman said. They were in
critical condition early Tuesday.
The first explosions began a little before 11 p.m. Monday at Blue Rhino at 300 County Road 448 and lasted for more than half an hour. The blasts began again about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday in tractor-trailers loaded with pallets of propane tanks, Tavares Fire Chief Richard Keith said.
Lake County Sheriff's Office spokesman John Herrell said 15 people working the night shift Monday were unaccounted for as of about 1:30 a.m. Seven workers were transported to hospitals, two people drove themselves to the hospital, Herrell said.
Two workers escaped the plant unharmed, Herrell said, and early into the morning they were talking with chaplains.
Herrell said the plant, as of Monday, had about 53,000 20-pound propane cylinders on site. There is "no indication whatsoever" how the fire or explosions started, he said.
"I heard loud boom sounds," said Lisa Garner, 43, who lives in Lakeside, a Tavares subdivision near county roads 461 and 448. "I thought somebody ran into my house."
The first blasts happened inside the plant, blowing the roof off, Lake County Sheriff Gary Borders said. After the second round, Tavares Fire Chief Richard Keith pulled his firefighters out for fear that they would be injured.
Five medical helicopters landed at LakeTech Institute of Public Safety, according to public-safety scanner transmissions. They took patients to hospitals in Lakeland, Ocala, Tampa and Orlando, according to transmissions just after midnight.
Orlando Regional Medical Center was treating two men for burns, a hospital spokeswoman said. They were in critical condition.
The Lake County Medical Examiner also was notified.
When the second round of explosions began close to midnight, and the fire spread to another part of the plant, Herrell said, fire officials had to pull their crews back a bit.
The giant flames had subsided a bit by 1 a.m., when Herrell met with reporters about a mile from the plant.
"At this point, the fire personnel are doing what they can...their main concern is containing this fire, containing this scene," Herrell said, adding that fire officials believed the fire was "contained" shortly after 1 a.m.
Herrell said at least 200 fire rescue, EMS and law enforcement officers from various law enforcement agencies.
"It's a very dangerous scene," Herrell said, adding that there were no reports of injuries among the first responders. "All I know in speaking with the fire chief is they have to proceed very cautiously."
Family members of workers were encouraged to go to the Lake Tech Institute of Public Safety on Lane Park Cutoff in Tavares.
Residents described sounds similar to a shotgun or fireworks and saw bursts of light and a bright orange glow above the treetops, they said. Some reported a "giant fireball" in the sky.
The sight of flames was reported more than five miles away. The vibrations could be felt as far away as Mount Dora.
Scores of people lined Lake Dora on Lakeshore Drive and gathering in a park in downtown Tavares to watch.
C.R. 448 was closed for three or four miles east of the plant.
Blue Rhino relocated to Tavares about seven years ago, according to an April 2006 article in the Orlando Sentinel. Its headquarters is in North Carolina.
SOURCE : http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-blue-rhino-gas-plant-explosion-lake-20130729,0,7791587.story
Twenty-four people were working the night shift at Blue Rhino, a propane-tank business. By 2 a.m. Tuesday, all employees were unaccounted for, said Lt. John Herrell, a Sheriff's Office spokesman.
There were no reports of fatalities, Herrell said.
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The first explosions began a little before 11 p.m. Monday at Blue Rhino at 300 County Road 448 and lasted for more than half an hour. The blasts began again about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday in tractor-trailers loaded with pallets of propane tanks, Tavares Fire Chief Richard Keith said.
Lake County Sheriff's Office spokesman John Herrell said 15 people working the night shift Monday were unaccounted for as of about 1:30 a.m. Seven workers were transported to hospitals, two people drove themselves to the hospital, Herrell said.
Two workers escaped the plant unharmed, Herrell said, and early into the morning they were talking with chaplains.
Herrell said the plant, as of Monday, had about 53,000 20-pound propane cylinders on site. There is "no indication whatsoever" how the fire or explosions started, he said.
"I heard loud boom sounds," said Lisa Garner, 43, who lives in Lakeside, a Tavares subdivision near county roads 461 and 448. "I thought somebody ran into my house."
The first blasts happened inside the plant, blowing the roof off, Lake County Sheriff Gary Borders said. After the second round, Tavares Fire Chief Richard Keith pulled his firefighters out for fear that they would be injured.
Five medical helicopters landed at LakeTech Institute of Public Safety, according to public-safety scanner transmissions. They took patients to hospitals in Lakeland, Ocala, Tampa and Orlando, according to transmissions just after midnight.
Orlando Regional Medical Center was treating two men for burns, a hospital spokeswoman said. They were in critical condition.
The Lake County Medical Examiner also was notified.
When the second round of explosions began close to midnight, and the fire spread to another part of the plant, Herrell said, fire officials had to pull their crews back a bit.
The giant flames had subsided a bit by 1 a.m., when Herrell met with reporters about a mile from the plant.
"At this point, the fire personnel are doing what they can...their main concern is containing this fire, containing this scene," Herrell said, adding that fire officials believed the fire was "contained" shortly after 1 a.m.
Herrell said at least 200 fire rescue, EMS and law enforcement officers from various law enforcement agencies.
"It's a very dangerous scene," Herrell said, adding that there were no reports of injuries among the first responders. "All I know in speaking with the fire chief is they have to proceed very cautiously."
Family members of workers were encouraged to go to the Lake Tech Institute of Public Safety on Lane Park Cutoff in Tavares.
Residents described sounds similar to a shotgun or fireworks and saw bursts of light and a bright orange glow above the treetops, they said. Some reported a "giant fireball" in the sky.
The sight of flames was reported more than five miles away. The vibrations could be felt as far away as Mount Dora.
Scores of people lined Lake Dora on Lakeshore Drive and gathering in a park in downtown Tavares to watch.
C.R. 448 was closed for three or four miles east of the plant.
Blue Rhino relocated to Tavares about seven years ago, according to an April 2006 article in the Orlando Sentinel. Its headquarters is in North Carolina.
SOURCE : http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-blue-rhino-gas-plant-explosion-lake-20130729,0,7791587.story
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