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REVISED 6-14-10 PHOTO ESSAY OF 2001 CORTEZ LP GAS BLAST:
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Satan's Den Exposed
The David Parker Ray Story
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Desert Journal Online
Contact Information
Bill Johnson
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Copyright ©
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Last modified:
August 18, 2010
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Did
we learn anything in the aftermath |
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Liquid propane gas explodes into mushroom clouds at
Cortez Gas Co. on East Third Avenue in Truth or Consequences Jan. 7, as
viewed one mile west from the dead-end of West Third. Photo by Bill
Johnson
THIS PAGE FEATURES MORE THAN 60 PHOTOS OF THE
FIRE, THE FIREFIGHTING EFFORT AND THE AFTERMATH DESTRUCTION (SCROLL DOWN
TO SEE!) |
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Did
we learn anything in the aftermath
of
devastating Cortez LP tank explosions?
Editorial
By Bill Johnson
What did the people of Truth or
Consequences learn the last four and a half months following the Jan. 7
explosions and devastating fire that erupted and destroyed more than a dozen
homes and damaged other property up to a mile or two away after a runaway pizza
delivery truck plowed through a chain link fence and crashed into the large
liquid propane tank in the Cortez Gas Company yard on East Third Avenue?
In terms of safety, I’d say very little was
learned, or at least that’s the way it seems after this week’s photo shoot
of safety issues surrounding the storage of liquid propane and its various
bottled products in town. It is recklessness that imperiled the townspeople that
bleak night when a series of LP gas explosions ripped through the propane tank
storage yard, blasting out shock waves, debris and mushroom flames.
So, how do we prevent another disaster when state
regulations are so pervasive that elephants and giraffes could jump through
their loopholes, mainly the grandfather clause that allows prior poorer
standards to exist. State LP Gas Bureau officials say Cortez Gas Co. complied
with the state standards that applied when it opened its storage and retail
facility on East Third Avenue in 1985.
But the Cortez managers or owners should have known
of the potential dangers since
the pickup
truck belonging to
Tammy Selman, the Domino’s Pizza employee who worked
across the street from Cortez Gas Co., wasn’t the first vehicle to fall out of
gear and roll across Third into the Cortez facility where the only “barrier”
between traffic and the storage tanks was a flimsy chain link fence.
So what should we do to prevent this catastrophe
from happening again? The suggestion that LP gas companies pack up and head for
the remote, sparsely populated country is probably the least economically
feasible for the business although perhaps the best solution to keeping society
safe and snug.
However, another solution is to protect LP storage
tanks and bottles from vehicles by installing barriers strong enough to stop a
vehicle’s entry at speeds equivalent to at least the posted speed limit. In
the case of the Jan. 7 blast, it didn’t take much speed as the unattended
vehicle slowly traveled backwards down a slope at an angle from Domino’s to
Cortez Gas Co.
A retired fire inspector said he understands that
the National Fire Protection Association adopted a new standard for flammable
liquids. New code No. 58 calls for installing 4-inch diameter steel posts filled
with concrete. The 6-foot-long posts are to be buried three feet into the ground
and laid with three-foot centers between posts.
Furthermore, according to the retired inspector,
the storage
of propane tanks or
bottles should be at least 20 feet away from any opening
or doorway in a structure.
He said the cages used for the retail sale of LP
bottles are meant merely to prevent tampering of the bottles and were not
intended for vehicular protection. “The City of T or C and state inspector are
allowing Furr’s supermarket and True Value hardware to keep 20-pound bottles
in front of their stores without vehicular protection, such as the steel,
concrete-reinforced posts,” he said. “These bottles are filled and lack
safety measures.”
The inspector said he doesn’t recommend building
earth mounds in which to place large LP storage tanks. He said dirt berms are
useful for petroleum tanks as long as they have 1.5 times the capacity of the
tank they’re holding. But berms even with such capacity are not able to
contain liquid propane, which is more expansive than petroleum when it escapes
and LP gas also rolls and moves rapidly, he said.
Although the State of New Mexico may not require
these apparent new standards, the LP gas industry could take the more stringent
approach, protect its assets and prevent damage or destruction to their
neighbors’ properties and even save a life or two. Fortunately no one was
killed or seriously injured in the Jan. 7 blasts – a miracle in itself – but
who is to say it won’t happen again? It’s better to be safe than sorry and
dole out the extra bucks to make the improvements.
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The
color photos in the first through ninth rows, all by Bill Johnson, are of
the Jan. 7, 2001, Cortez Gas Co. explosions and fire fighting effort. The
photo of the "big" explosion (tenth row, photo on left) that sent shock
waves within a couple or few miles radius is by contributor Charles Swimmer,
who said the blast almost knocked him off his roof about a mile away.
All of the black and white photos
(10th through 18th rows) are by former DJ Photographer David Pierre and were taken Jan. 7 (all
nighttime shots) and Jan. 8 (all daytime shots). The last two rows
of black-and-white photos by Bill Johnson, taken in May 2001, show safety
concerns regarding the storage of liquid propane tanks and bottles five
months after the disaster.
Greater safety measures eventually were taken to protect LP storage tanks.
The Desert Journal's coverage of this event won a few top journalism honors
in the New Mexico Press Association's Better Newspaper Contest in 2001,
including best photo series, best news writing and the public service award.
After Bill Johnson heard on the police scanner that a truck struck the
propane tank at Cortez, he told his wife to prepare for a huge blast and
began to count down: "Three, two, one... KABOOM!!!" He was clad in his
shorts, ran outside with his camera and began to shoot. "It was cold that
night and I didn't fetch my camera's tripod, which would have kept my photos
still and in focus. I also was clad in shorts and a tee-shirt so the cold
made me shiver slightly, causing the camera to move and to distort the
images of the city lights and fire ball and explosions a mile away (as
depicted in the first three enlarged photos of this series)," Johnson said.
About a half hour into the fire, David Pierre called Johnson and informed
him he had left his hotel clerk job and was at the fire shooting photos.
He said to Johnson, "You need to get down here too!" Eventually
Johnson made it past the restricted fire line and joined David in the effort
to document the firefighting effort. "I remember the NMPA contest judges
from Texas commented that David's work was some of the best nighttime flash
photography they've ever seen," Johnson said.
(REVISED 6-14-10) |
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