Crude oil is a vital component in the lumber industry - mainly used to cure wood by repelling rain and moisture in lumber yards. However, if not handled properly, the combustible crude oil can be dangerous and devastating. And that's just what happened yesterday in Shipyard, Orange Walk where an accidental spill can result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in loss and damage. It's one of the first and certainly the biggest fire ever experienced on the property. Our team followed up on the aftermath today, Jomarie Lanza reports.
This is the explosion that erupted yesterday in Shipyard when crude oil combusted unexpectedly.
It happened at Crowns Lumber Yard which keeps a steady supply of crude oil on hand for their business operations. But nothing like yesterday evening's explosion and fire has ever happened before.
It all began with a faulty transfer from one tank to another using improper equipment, a decision that almost destroyed Crown's entire business, with one single leak and a spark.
Benjamin Crown, Owner, Crowns Lumber Yard
"The truck arrived here full but there was a problem with the pump, there was crude oil leaking out. It caught onto the engine of the motor and that's how the fire started. My grandchildren and my workers who were working nearby were the first ones to see it. They ran to tell the driver because the driver wasn't around. And when he came over it was already too late. He managed to close the pump and remove the hose that was attached but it kept spreading to the rest of the motor and that's when the fire got out of control and he ended up burning the bottom of his foot."
While feeding the crude oil from the fuel trailer into Crown's tank, the feeder hose came loose, spraying dozens of liters of crude oil everywhere, accidentally hitting the heated motor pump which instantly burst into flames. This is how the fire first started in a flash - but it ended hours later in a shambles.
Over 9 thousand gallons of crude oil were spilled out onto the property feeding the fire. This made it even harder for the workers to extinguish the growing flames that quickly spread to the equipment on the property, the lumber, and other materials. By the time owner Benjamin Crown and his other workers intervened, the fire was on the brink of spreading to his home and other buildings nearby.
Benjamin Crown, Owner, Crowns Lumber Yard
"He came out and after that a lot of people arrived to help and we managed to take out the truck onto the road to prevent it from catching fire.The balance that was left on the property ended up burning. That's nine thousand gallons of crude that got burned. There were three thousand gallons in the tanks I had, but we had to throw extinguishers onto them because the top of the tanks started catching fire. My saw got burned, which had all that wood inside, all those bundles over there, it was worth a total of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars."
It took Crown three calls to get through to the Fire Department. It wasn't until after 3:00 am that fire crews managed to completely extinguish the fire.
Benjamin Crown, Owner, Crowns Lumber Yard
"Yes they arrived but they took an Hour and a half to get here. And when they arrived nobody knew how to operate the machinery and none of them were able to help me at all."
And while Crown's business experienced a substantial loss, he says that they have encountered an even bigger issue with insurance coverage given that they had nothing to do with the cause of the fire.
Reporter -
"But your business was insured?"
Benjamin Crown, Owner, Crowns Lumber Yard
"Here in Shipyard we are insured. They already came this morning to check with us but they are not in agreement because the accident was not my fault.The insurance says that the fire did not start because of me, it's because of them who brought in a gasoline powered motor that they were not supposed to have or use to transfer dangerous material."
Crown says that they are in the process of seeking legal action against the other party involved once they obtain an official report from the police department.
We reached out to the fire personnel who were on the scene today for an interview but they declined to comment. Amir Leiva received minor burns to his foot and arm, and was treated and released.
