Shooting a propane tank - GIF

[tlnixon]

When I was younger, my Dad was on a volunteer Fire Department in the little town we lived in. They got a call from the local Gasoline, heating oil kerosene, etc. supplier who had several large tanks. He told Dad that one of their large, tall gasoline tanks was leaking and they were emptying it out in preparation of welding up the leak. They wanted the Fire Department to stand-by while they did the welding.

My Dad about had a cow! He told them he was going to be over in an adjoining county if they did it that way. He said the empty tank would still be full of explosive vapors and would surely explode and probably level the downtown.

So they asked him how to do it. He told them to fill the tank back-up and weld it. They were at the firehouse waiting, and of course except for a little gasoline burning off near the crack near the bottom of the tank, nothing happened.

It's the vapors, not the liquid that is deadly, BUT, a tank leaking liquid propane can cause ice to freeze around the leak as it escapes, enough ice can form that the other escaping gas can cause enough friction to self-ignite or perhaps even explode.