We were driving by then BOOM!!!!

[Dr Mordrid]

There we were; minding our own business on the way to get some groceries.....



Crews were removing an old kerosene tank from behind a nearby hardware store when they hit a gas line. No immediate fire, but about 10 min. after the fire crews arrived the stores furnace lit.

BOOM!!

VERY fortunately none of the firemen were seriously injured, but one guy who worked at the strip mall was thrown over 50 feet.

Our car was about 200 feet away and was pushed aside rather strongly.

Erik woke from a dead sleep into a full bug-eyed panic

Flames were going at least 50-75 feet in the air and the very black smoke column was enormous.

Whew.....

Dr. Mordrid

[KRSESQ]

Injuries on the scene? (Hoping not!)

Natural gas is definitely NOT something to screw with.

A few years back a refrigerated building at the state pen blew up from a gas leak. Some prisoners were inside not ten minutes before, getting something for the kitchen. One of the guards witnessed it and said it looked like the entire building (solid brick) lifted ten feet into the air and then dropped in a heap. A friend of mine who's an electrician was one of the first on the scene. He and his crew had to make sure the power was dead before the firefighters could go in to put out the fire and look for victims.

I lived three miles away at the time and the ka-boom rattled my windows. I remember thinking "he's flying a little low!"

I didn't hear what really happened until later that afternoon when Butch filled us in on the whole story.

A nice little scare but no injuries. The building itself was at least seventy years old.

Kevin

[Dr Mordrid]

No major injuries, but lots of rattled nerves; there is a sub right behind that strip mall

Dr. Mordrid

[TnT]

Close one, glad everyone is safe.

[Nowhere]

As my chemist put it one day - "supplying something like natural gas to homes is quite an extreme idea"