The explosion at an auto repair shop in Hillsboro, OH that claimed the lives of three (3) workers, aged 19, 33, and 47 in 2023 has been determined to have been caused by a rupture to an LPG cylinder that had been overfilled and past its requalification date by 33 years.
I would also like to make note of the following facts, as stated in the SFM report, that could have played a role in this tragedy. This is MY ANALYSIS, not the SFM’s.
The business had a "cylinder fill cabinet" that allowed for small LPG cylinders to be filled by weight. However, this cabinet could NOT accommodate a 100-pound cylinder due to the cabinet being only 3'4" tall (see pics below). It should also be understood that 100-pound cylinders are NOT equipped with an "Overfilling Protection Device"(OPD). This resulted in the 100-pound cylinder being overfilled as there was no physical manner to put the cylinder on the scale! The business had a chart at the filling station that went up to 100-pound cylinders (see pic below). NONE THE LESS, this specific cylinder nor those brought in by another customer on the day the SFM and DOT inspector(s) were at the business should have NEVER been filled as they were way past due for their recert/requalification.
State investigators found that the tank involved in this explosion was improperly filled at a local Farm Supply store.
On the day of the explosion, an employee of the Defendants refilled four (4) 100-pound propane cylinders at the request of the Auto Repair business. Notwithstanding the lack of requalification/recertification of the 100-pound propane cylinder that burst on November 28, 2023, which was required by law to be requalified/recertified before being filled on November 28, 2023, the propane cylinder at issue was overfilled by Defendant.
The 100-pound propane cylinder at issue was manufactured in 1950, over 70 years before its catastrophic failure. According to all applicable standards, codes, and regulations, the propane cylinder at issue was required to be marked with its manufacture date, which it was.
NOTE1: seeing the enlarged and enhanced video evidence, it is clear that a cylinder catastrophically failed, and filled the enclosed garage with LPG gas, which ignited several seconds later.
NOTE2: the cylinder that failed was NOT in use at the time and still had its safety cap in place.