ST. PETERSBURG --
An Iraq War veteran who moved to the Tampa Bay area to pursue his love of diving died Sunday after the scuba tank he was carrying exploded.
Russell Vanhorn II, 23, was carrying the scuba tank to his car about 6:50 a.m., getting ready for a planned diving trip, when it exploded.
The force of the explosion blew out the front door and windows of Vanhorn's apartment at 5875 37th Ave. N. The explosion also sent debris flying as far away as 75 feet. Some of that debris blew out the windows of cars parked nearby.
Vanhorn was taken to St. Petersburg General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 8 a.m., said St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue Lt. Joel Granata.
Two other people were in the apartment when the tank exploded but were not injured. They said Vanhorn was carrying the tank to a car, getting ready for a scuba diving trip, when the tank went off, Granata said.
Several other scuba tanks were in the apartment. The Tampa Police Department's bomb squad inspected the tanks and let the air out.
Vanhorn grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and joined the U.S. Marines in 2005. He completed his service in 2009 with the rank of corporal, said his brother, Justin Warnke.
He served eight months in Iraq from 2006 to 2007. After returning from Iraq, Vanhorn's battalion was stationed in Okinawa, Japan. That's where he learned to scuba dive and earned his open water scuba diving license, Warnke said.
The hobby became a passion, Warnke said.
"He fell in love with it," Warnke said. "Scuba diving was his life. That is the only thing he lived for."
After he finished his military service, about 18 months ago, Vanhorn moved to Florida, where he took courses and earned the credentials to teach scuba diving, said Warnke, who learned to scuba dive from his brother.
Vanhorn worked teaching scuba diving at dive shops in the St. Petersburg and Holiday areas, Warnke said.
"When it came to diving, he took no chances," Warnke said. "He made sure his gear was properly stored and maintained. He didn't neglect anything when it came to scuba diving.
"I know he wouldn't use something that was outdated or substandard," he said.
Investigators are still trying to determine why Vanhorn's scuba tank exploded, Granata said.
A possible reason for the tank exploding was that the tank was too full, said Billy Hussey, the manager of EZ Scuba Diving on Hillsborough Avenue in Tampa.
Scuba tanks typically hold a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen the same as the air one would normally breathe. When a tank is refilled, it should be filled to its capacity and then allowed to cool in the scuba shop, Hussey said. Then it should be handed back over to its owner.
However, some scuba shops will let a tank cool and then top it off. Doing so doesn't leave any room for the gases inside to expand when it is hot outside, Hussey said.
It's also possible the tank was simply old, and gave way to wear and tear.
"If you don't take care of the stuff, salt water can get inside and corrode the wall of the tank," said Hussey, who has been scuba diving for four years.
Scuba tanks made prior to 1990 which some divers still use were made using an alloy that was known to crack around the neck of the tank, Hussey said. Those cracks make the tanks susceptible to exploding.
Hussey said scuba divers should have their tanks inspected annually and should be familiar with the condition of their equipment.
"It wouldn't just spontaneously explode," Hussey said.
