Firefighter killed filling tanks - Ohio

[infieldg]

...pure speculation leads me to believe it must have been something more along the lines of a fitting blasting loose and striking him..".

Good call. Man, the forces involved are staggering...

Some of the cylinder valves were stuck shut preventing the fire fighters from bleeding off the cylinders’ contents through the cylinder valve. In order to bleed off the cylinder contents from the cylinders with the stuck valves, Fire Fighter 1 was instructed to loosen the pressure-relief burst disc plugs on the cylinder valves approximately 1 ½ to 2 turns, while Fire Fighter 2 assisted the captain in removing cylinder valves from the empty cylinders. During this process, one of the pressure-relief plugs separated from the valve body which created an unrestricted oriface through which the cylinder contents vented. The unsecured cylinder began to spin, rotate and bounce off the engine bay floor until it became an airborne projectile. The airborne cylinder struck a concrete block wall, causing the cylinder valve body to shear off, resulting in a larger oriface for the cylinder contents to vent through. The cylinder was projected off the concrete block wall diagonally across the engine bay where it struck the right rear corner (officer side) of the engine, then glanced off the engine striking Fire Fighter 2 in the head.

 

[JG109]

Crazy read.
I've had burst disks give out on a fill whip, and in the trailer- besides the noise, not unmanageable. Easy to get complacent.
Very unfortunate incident, but a good reminder of the immense energy stored in a filled scuba tank!

 

[RayfromTX]

The odds of this accidental release leading to a strike of a human resulting in death seems remote. This leads me to believe that this type of incident happens more often than we are aware and when no severe injury or death occurs, the parties involved probably thank the heavens and it never gets reported widely. That's just a guess but I know I have been witness to multiple accidents that could have gone much worse and only our friends ever hear the story. The line in the report about an inadequate risk/reward assessment may be the most glaring omission of the decision making chain of events.

There is a lot of energy stored in that quiet little tank in the corner.

 

[Bob DBF]

This leads me to believe that this type of incident happens more often than we are aware and when no severe injury or death occurs, the parties involved probably thank the heavens and it never gets reported widely.

Close calls in the scuba industry, and every other industry, happens on a regular basis. Why report ones own stupidity when one gets away unscathed, I certainly never did. I can only hope something is learned in the process, I figure I'm getting close to a PhD with what I've learned the hard way.

There is a lot of energy stored in that quiet little tank in the corner.

Amen! Treat the all powerful with respect, lest thee be smitten.


Bob

 

[RayfromTX]

It's not dangerous if you are wise and judicious. I consider it similar to the gas tank in your car or the gas can for your mower. They end up stored in people's homes and can be devastating. My neighbor left for vacation and an hour later their ford explorer caught fire because of the cruise control fault that was a known issue. It burned to the ground taking their pickup truck parked nearby with it. Just before they left for their vacation they moved the explorer out of the garage and into the yard. Wise and judicious or perhaps just lucky. We must always be thinking. In the case of a stuck scuba valve, "toss me a wrench, I've got this" may not be wise or judicious. Sympathies to the family of the deceased.