Gas Leak Causes Explosion, Engulfs Home, Three Chinese Nationals Escape Injury

[Georgealbert]

 

 

On August 9, at approximately 18:06, the Huai Yai Municipal Disaster Relief Center received a report of a fire at a residential home. The incident occurred at a housing estate in Moo 1, Huai Yai Subdistrict.

 

Upon arrival, responders found a large group of foreign nationals, mostly Chinese, gathered to witness the blaze. The fire had fully engulfed a two-story home. Firefighters worked to contain the flames, preventing them from spreading to nearby houses. It took about an hour to bring the fire under control. Inside the home, almost all the belongings and furniture were destroyed or damaged, and a white Toyota Revo pickup truck with Chonburi temporary license plates sustained damage from the initial explosion. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

 

According to the Chinese residents of the house, who spoke through a translator, the home was occupied by three people: two women aged between 35 and 45 and a boy aged between 10 and 15. They recounted that they were preparing a meal when flames suddenly erupted from a gas cylinder. In a panic, they fled the house and sought help from neighbors just before the gas or cylinder exploded.

 

Initial investigations by Police Lieutenant Colonel Nevin Suntuanik, Deputy Inspector of Huai Yai Police Station, revealed that the home, valued at ten million baht, was severely damaged due to a gas leak that led to the explosion.
 

Authorities plan to coordinate with forensic police from Chonburi's Region 2 to conduct a thorough investigation to determine the exact cause of the incident.
 

-- 2024-08-10

 

- Cigna offers a variety of health insurance plans designed to meet the minimum requirement for medical treatment coverage, with benefits reaching up to THB 3 million. These plans are tailored to provide comprehensive healthcare solutions for expatriates, ensuring peace of mind and access to quality medical services. To explore the full range of Cigna's expat health insurance options and find a plan that suits your needs, click here for more information.

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe

[jacko45k]

Hmm. Perhaps I now have less of a dispute with the gas bottle refilling station, who rejected my old cylinder, refusing to refill it, and made me pay for a new one. (Or what happened to my old one?)

[ChrisY1]

Another quality gas fitting job performed....Thai style!

[thesetat2013]

6 minutes ago, ChrisY1 said:

Another quality gas fitting job performed....Thai style!

That is rather assumptive. It is entirely feasible that the residents changed there own gas tank and failed to close it tight enough. When i have a refill tank delivered to my home. They only come and pick up the old one and leave me a new one filled. I always need to make the connections myself. 

 

I hope the owners were smart enough to insure the house. 

[NE1]

28 minutes ago, thesetat2013 said:

When i have a refill tank delivered to my home. They only come and pick up the old one and leave me a new one filled. I always need to make the connections myself. 

as do we.

[mikebell]

3 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

a large group of foreign nationals, mostly Chinese,

An enclave of Chinese living in 10 million baht houses?  Sounds like a job for Big Joke ... oh!

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, ChrisY1 said:

Another quality gas fitting job performed....Thai style!

Could easily have been a perished hose, or the bottle fitting?

 

[Georgealbert]

35 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Could easily have been a perished hose, or the bottle fitting?

 

Yes agree with you.
 

My belief is this explosion was caused by a gas leak from either the body of a LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cylinder, valve, regulator, hose or from the cooker, as there is no evidence from responders that the cylinder itself had ruptured, such as would be expected if the cylinder had been exposed to heat and suffered a BLEVE (boiling liquid expanding vapour explosion)
 

The LPG may have been leaking for a time and finally reached a gas-air mixture, in the kitchen, within its flammability/explosive limit range, and was ignited by the flame noticed by the occupants. LPG is heavier than air and can build up and disperse over an area fairly quickly.

 

Investigation of the physical evidence will be difficult to interpret, as it maybe impossible to identify what damage, loose connections or faults were present before the explosion or was caused by the explosion. Investigators will have to question the occupants and who last changed the cylinder, plus if a new cooker, who fitted it, to try to determine the possible cause.

 

Picture from responders of the kitchen

[mokwit]

I wonder what industrial process was taking place in a property designated as residential.

[Liverpool Lou]

3 minutes ago, mokwit said:

I wonder what industrial process was taking place in a property designated as residential.

Why do you suggest that any industrial process had been taking place?

[The Fugitive]

It isn't always possible but I've noticed that Thai's don't even seem to try to keep a wall between themselves and the gas cylinder.

[Georgealbert]

7 minutes ago, mokwit said:

I wonder what industrial process was taking place in a property designated as residential.

There is zero evidence to suggest that this was anything other than a residential premises, which suffered a gas explosion.

[Georgealbert]

2 minutes ago, The Fugitive said:

It isn't always possible but I've noticed that Thai's don't even seem to try to keep a wall between themselves and the gas cylinder.

A wall would not help much if the leak was in the hose or cooker.

[impulse]

On an aside, do Thai owners generally carry enough insurance to cover a 10 million baht home?  (Assuming the foreign occupants were renters...)

 

And in any case, will they go after the renters to recover the damages?

I'm asking as a prospective renter...  Will I want to get insurance to cover my liability?

 

Back home, we'd suspect cooking meth, or bean burrito night.  Sadly, the news cycle will probably be onto other things when they finish the investigation.

 

[RichardColeman]

My guess, they took the bottle out to have an outside barbeque and could not refit  it. Never had any issues with thai men installing new gas canisters

[CharlesHolzhauer]

This is terrible news, and I wonder if the incident was caused by a faulty connection or gas fitting. It's also a wake-up call for me to take action to mitigate the risk of a possible BLEVE, thereby safeguarding both my wife and myself.

I am therefore planning to relocate my LPG cylinder as far as possible (about 10-15 meters) from the cooker, minimizing the use of the gas hose and replacing it with an 8mm diameter copper tube. To the best of my knowledge, none of the household cookers and regulators on LPG cylinders here in Thailand have fittings that connect directly to copper pipes. Therefore, I plan to connect a short section (50 to 100 mm) of heavy-duty gas hose with customary clamps on both ends of the copper tube to link the LPG regulator and the cooker.

Additionally, I will initiate regular leak tests on all gas connections using soapy water. I understand that the copper tubing will help minimize the pressure drop, and I hope that the distance between the LPG cylinder and the cooker won't affect the cooker's efficiency.

[Georgealbert]

12 minutes ago, CharlesHolzhauer said:

This is terrible news, and I wonder if the incident was caused by a faulty connection or gas fitting. It's also a wake-up call for me to take action to mitigate the risk of a possible BLEVE, thereby safeguarding both my wife and myself.

I am therefore planning to relocate my LPG cylinder as far as possible (about 10-15 meters) from the cooker, minimizing the use of the gas hose and replacing it with an 8mm diameter copper tube. To the best of my knowledge, none of the household cookers and regulators on LPG cylinders here in Thailand have fittings that connect directly to copper pipes. Therefore, I plan to connect a short section (50 to 100 mm) of heavy-duty gas hose with customary clamps on both ends of the copper tube to link the LPG regulator and the cooker.

Additionally, I will initiate regular leak tests on all gas connections using soapy water. I understand that the copper tubing will help minimize the pressure drop, and I hope that the distance between the LPG cylinder and the cooker won't affect the cooker's efficiency.

Remember for a BLEVE to occur in an LPG cylinder it will take direct flame and heating of the cylinder walls. Yes in an intense fire a BLEVE can occur within minutes, but there are many variables, that prevents anyone providing an exact timing, such as how much LPG in the cylinder, condition of cylinder, and what type of material is burning. This fire incident was not a BLEVE as the LPG cylinder had not ruptured. Also if you are concerned about a BLEVE, remember where you place the cylinder, you need to protect yourself form the fire ball produced , the explosive/heat blast and the projectile hazard of the rupturing cylinder.
 

BLEVE is not going to be the biggest risk with an LPG cylinder, it is a leak which forms an explosive/flammable gas/air mixture and finding an ignition source and either exploding or flashing back to the leak, causing a fire along that path. Also remember that LPG is heavier than air, so will sink and form at low levels.
 

Good ventilation of the area where the LPG cylinder is stored will prevent any leak getting into the explosive range, and normal good home fire safety measures, including detectors, will help prevent and make you aware of a situation before a BLEVE can occur.

[CharlesHolzhauer]

31 minutes ago, Georgealbert said:

Remember for a BLEVE to occur in an LPG cylinder it will take direct flame and heating of the cylinder walls. Yes in an intense fire a BLEVE can occur within minutes, but there are many variables, that prevents anyone providing an exact timing, such as how much LPG in the cylinder, condition of cylinder, and what type of material is burning. This fire incident was not a BLEVE as the LPG cylinder had not ruptured. Also if you are concerned about a BLEVE, remember where you place the cylinder, you need to protect yourself form the fire ball produced , the explosive/heat blast and the projectile hazard of the rupturing cylinder.
 

BLEVE is not going to be the biggest risk with an LPG cylinder, it is a leak which forms an explosive/flammable gas/air mixture and finding an ignition source and either exploding or flashing back to the leak, causing a fire along that path. Also remember that LPG is heavier than air, so will sink and form at low levels.
 

Good ventilation of the area where the LPG cylinder is stored will prevent any leak getting into the explosive range, and normal good home fire safety measures, including detectors, will help prevent and make you aware of a situation before a BLEVE can occur.

Yes, a BLEVE would be the extreme case of an accident. However, faulty fittings and inexperienced individuals replacing gas cylinders are more prevalent here, not to mention the lack of proper inspection practices for empty cylinders by gas filling companies—all of which could lead to serious consequences. That said, I believe that the measures I intend to implement will significantly enhance the safety of both my wife and myself.

[Georgealbert]

12 minutes ago, CharlesHolzhauer said:

Yes, a BLEVE would be the extreme case of an accident. However, faulty fittings and inexperienced individuals replacing gas cylinders are more prevalent here, not to mention the lack of proper inspection practices for empty cylinders by gas filling companies—all of which could lead to serious consequences. That said, I believe that the measures I intend to implement will significantly enhance the safety of both my wife and myself.

Excellent, sounds like you have a plan, on how to protect yourself.

[steven100]

Change to induction cookers ....   problem of risk solved ..

 

[rocketboy2]

Gas cooking is fine here. cheap and quick.

Just that, some idiots need to stay away from gas.

That's users and installers .

[brianthainess]

They saw flames and ran away, bad move. Just turn the gas off, this is the reason gas cylinders are made with the outlet at 90' to the tank as is the Tap, walk up from behind the tap, and turn it off, gas cylinders do not blow back inside the tank, if that was the case cigarette lighters would explode. Always place the tap in a position to be able to easily turn it of.

[Victor Laszlo]

They said flames suddenly erupted from the gas cylinder, which suggests it was in the kitchen, you'd think in a ten million baht property it would be housed outside.

[impulse]

2 hours ago, brianthainess said:

They saw flames and ran away, bad move. Just turn the gas off, this is the reason gas cylinders are made with the outlet at 90' to the tank as is the Tap, walk up from behind the tap, and turn it off, gas cylinders do not blow back inside the tank, if that was the case cigarette lighters would explode. Always place the tap in a position to be able to easily turn it of.

 

Years ago, I left an LPG canister outside and forgot about it for a year or so.  Came back to find it empty, with corrosion holes in it.  Fortunately, there was no buildup of gas since it was outside.  Had it gone off, no amount of tightening the valve would have done the trick.  The best thing to do is run away.  Far away.   Leave the heroics to the guys who have the training to know the dangers. 

 

I have undergone BLEVE training in several capacities over the years, and that's a situation I want no part of, especially from up close.  Sometimes the safe solution is to set up a perimeter and keep everyone away.

 

BTW, I doubt my canister would have rusted through in just a year outdoors.  But it was one of those refillable ones that may have had a history before it was delivered to me.  Covered up by coats of paint...

 

[brianthainess]

25 minutes ago, impulse said:

Had it gone off, no amount of tightening the valve would have done the trick.  The best thing to do is run away.  Far away.   Leave the heroics to the guys who have the training to know the dangers. 

How would it have 'gone off' that only happens if a cylinder is under extreme heat in a fire. I have also been trained by the UK fire service, also with those used on a fork lift where the internal pipe is in the liquid gas, which will throw a flame about 10 meters, CO2 extinguisher played around the outlet and freeze it shut. I was just giving info on Always have the Valve Facing so you can come up from behind and turn it off.

 

[jacko45k]

20 hours ago, Victor Laszlo said:

They said flames suddenly erupted from the gas cylinder, which suggests it was in the kitchen, you'd think in a ten million baht property it would be housed outside.

Yeah, mine are on the other side of a wall and the pipe goes through a little hole. My neighbours had a mechanical timing device on it so it would shut itself off after a preset. 

[Denim]

In all our houses I have the gas cylinder outside the house in its own ventilated cupboard then run the pipe through the wall to the cooker on the inside. Most people in rural areas connect their own cylinders . Not rocket science.

[john donson]

great, reminds me to pay the insurance

[CharlesHolzhauer]

Gotta respect them receptacles containing flammable products.

[CharlesHolzhauer]

1 hour ago, Denim said:

In all our houses I have the gas cylinder outside the house in its own ventilated cupboard then run the pipe through the wall to the cooker on the inside.

What type of pipe and connectors are you using for linking the LPG cylinder and cooker?

1 hour ago, Denim said:

Most people in rural areas connect their own cylinders . Not rocket science.

It can become problematic if the LPG cylinder and/or valve have not been regularly inspected or tested properly.