AUGUSTA, ME—An auger head of a bollard installed by a Manchester company to protect an air-conditioning unit six days before a deadly September explosion at a Farmington nonprofit severed the propane line and caused the blast, the state fire marshal’s office said Friday.
The news confirms the account of the daughter of Farmington fire Capt. Michael Bell, who died Sept. 16 while investigating a propane leak at nonprofit LEAP Inc., after 400 gallons of propane leaked into the building. The blast injured seven others and leveled nearby mobile homes.
RELATED:
- ME Fire Captain Killed in Propane Explosion
- Fallen ME Captain Followed Family's Firefighting Legacy
- Propane Leak Caused Blast That Killed Firefighter
- FFs Injured in ME Blast Continue to Recover
- Final Firefighter Injured in Fatal ME Blast Goes Home
- ME Firefighters Move Ahead after Tragic Explosion
According to Stephen McCausland, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety, the 10-foot poles were drilled into the ground about five feet away from the building in the paved parking lot to protect an outside air conditioning unit located next to the building.
A propane line was buried about three feet underneath the parking lot and connected the outside propane tank to the building. The line was covered in a protective sleeve, but was pierced by one of the bollard’s auger heads. The tank had been filled the Friday before Sept. 16, when LEAP maintenance manager Larry Lord reported the smell of gas early in the morning.
The bollards were installed by Techno Post of Maine, a Manchester-based company among the four companies being investigated by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. That company was recently found to have violated the state’s Dig Safe laws by Maine Public Utilities Commission staff, the Sun Journal reported.
The Farmington Fire Department responded to the propane leak. The explosion killed Bell and injured Lord and several other firefighters. Lord, who was hailed a hero for evacuating the building beforehand, is still hospitalized in Boston.
———
©2020 the Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine)
Visit the Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine) at www.bangordailynews.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
