Propane Explosion in White County Kills Edgar Brummett
A propane explosion in White County, Georgia killed Edgar Brummett. Mr. Brummett was at his grandson’s house in Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia, potentially investigating a suspected propane leak. Apparently, the 120 gallon ASME propane tank had been filled in December, and was already “out of gas” despite low use.
Suspecting an obvious gas leak, the homeowner apparently called the propane company, reported a gas leak, and the propane disputed the homeowners call. An “out of gas” call from a homeowner reporting a leak is a big, big deal in the propane world, and the local propane distributor (Tugalo gas) absolutely had a duty to red-tag the propane system and conduct a full system leak check AND pressure check pursuant to NFPA 58, the LP gas code.
The propane industry has known, for years, of the dangers and hazards of an “out of gas” system and a homeowner report of a leak. Often after accidents such as the one in Sautee Nacoochee, the propane company will be on the scene of the accident within hours, gathering propane samples to determine if the gas was adequately odorized and determining whether the system was up to code.
