Twist Of Events On Box 8-5

At 3:22 AM on Sunday, October 10, Box 8-5 was sounded for a House Fire at 1260 Marble Quarry Road, southeast of Union Bridge. Chief 8(Chad Green) responded to the scene and on arrival, found a Ford Ranger pick-up truck, fully involved, next to a house. Not knowing whether there was extension into the house, only 20 feet away, he quickly established 'Marble Quarry Road Command'. Engine 81 arrived and was directed by 'Command' to extend a line between the truck and house. As Engine 101 arrived, they were directed to pull a back-up line while B-105 was sent to a dry hydrant on Little Pipe Creek at McKinstry's Mill Rd and Route 75 for water supply.

Lt C. Harris (E-81 OIC) quickly determined that there was no extension into the house, however, firefighters were having a hard time knocking down the vehicle fire. After a few minutes, they found out that a propane tank was under the vehicle and that there was an explosion prior to the fire departments arrival. Crews began searching under the vehicle for what they thought was a 20 lb. propane tank, but were unable to see it. Soon after, it was determined that, in fact, the tank was a 500 gallon under-ground tank and that the truck had driven over the valve. This caused catastrophic damage to the valve by busting off the shutoff and relief plug. This meant that there would be no way to turn off the gas.

After extinguishing the rest of the fire in the cab and engine compartment of the truck, it was decided to let the propane continue to burn so that we "knew where the gas is going". United Propane was contacted since they were the owners of the under-ground tank and responded to the scene to assist with determining if there was anything else that could be done. 'Command' also reduced the amount of units on the scene to Company's 8 and 10. Engine 32 was held on the scene in-service to cover 8 and 10 Box Area's.

The situation began when the Ford Ranger pick-up, carrying wood for a small bon fire, was driven over the tank valve. The busted valve produced a hissing noise and the vehicle stalled. When the driver started the vehicle again, fire erupted. After a few minutes of intense burning, it is believed that the trucks fuel tank exploded which also broke 3 windows on the house as well as sending a fireball into the night sky. The tenants of the house said they smelled the propane in the house and evacuated themselves and their children before the fire started. They also said the ground shook from the explosion.

Initially, the State Fire Marshal was not called because 'Command' knew how the fire started and there were no injuries reported. However, later in the incident, as details of the situation became more clear, the Fire Marshal was called. Actually, someone had been burned while trying to retrieve items from the truck while it was burning. Although the victim refused treatment several times, FM-34 responded due to the nature and injury reported by 'Command'. The victim left the scene before the arrival of the FM. The Maryland State Police were also on the scene to handle any legal action that was required.

As the fire reduced in intensity, 'Command' held Engine 81 and returned the rest of the assignment. After about 4 and 1/2 hours on the scene, Engine 81 cleared at 8:00 AM. The residual gas was left to burn out over the next 3 to 4 hours while United Propane representatives were on the scene. The State Fire Marshal and the Maryland State Police are investigating the incident.