The Fire Department responded with haste to the report of a leaking butane tank in the heart of the downtown area this morning. It was a genuine scare as the report came form a resident at the corner of George and Orange Streets just after 8:00. That’s in a congested downtown area at the height of the morning rush hour. But fortunately it was only a scare – and by the time the fire department got there, the company that had filled the tank, BWEL – had already taken it back to its depot.
Jose Mai, the General Manager of BWEL deflected any blame form his company. He confirmed that the customer brought the 50 pound cylinder to their Sarstoon Street Depot at 7:15 am and they inspected and tested, confirmed that it was fine and then handed it back over to the owner who took it to his home at the Corner of George and Orange Streets. Shortly after they got a call from he owner as did the Fire Department. They found that the tank had a small leak at the top – and took it back to their depot – and then transferred the butane to a new cylinder that the customer brought.
And while that’s BWEL’s account, the Fire Department personnel we spoke to weren’t happy. They feel that it is another demonstration of careless operations by the butane companies and in this case the feel that BWEL filled the tank without realizing that it was leaking.
Mai strongly rejects that position – he says it was not leaking when it left their compound. He attributes the leak to metal fatigue and suspects that when the owner was transporting it back to his home, he could have damaged the tank by hitting a pothole or bumping it on the stairs.
