Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Industrial Park avoids unexpected elevation to a new location

The city’s fire service was put into action on Monday at the Prince Rupert Industrial Park after what is called a “propane emergency”, a propane leak was reported just after 9 am and Prince Rupert Fire Rescue and the RCMP responded to secure and evacuate the area.

The malfunction of a shut-off valve on a propane transport vehicle was the culprit and resulted in roughly 2,000 litres of liquid propane were spilled in the incident, with a large vapour cloud moving through the area at one time.

At one point even the Butze Rapids trail area was searched, in order to make sure that any wayward hikers were aware that the pathways on Monday held a possible danger more worrisome than the usual wolf encounters ahead.

All the excitement was over by 11:30 in the morning; when the area was given the all clear.

The Daily News had full details in Monday’s paper.

GAS LEAK DRAWS A SPEEDY RESPONSE
The Daily News
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Page three


Firefighters raced to the city’s outskirts yesterday morning after a propane emergency forced the evacuation of the industrial park.

“Prince Rupert Fire Rescue responded to reports of a major propane leak in the Prince Rupert Industrial Park shortly after 9 a. m. (Monday) morning,” said Fire Chief Ron Miller. “The malfunction of a shut-off valve on a propane transport vehicle resulted in approximately 2,000 litres of liquid propane being spilled.”

Several businesses in the industrial site were evacuated as a very large cloud of propane vapour moved through the area before dissipating, RCMP assisted in blocking off access to the industrial site and also checked the Butze Rapids Trail for any hikers who might have been in danger. No injuries were reported.

Individual buildings in the area were checked and cleared by firefighters to ensure the scene was safe. People were permitted to return to work by 11:30 a. m.

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