Newsletter #173 (View other news stories)
Students evacuated following propane gas tank leak
PUTNAM CITY, OK, United States
Thursday, 2 Sep 2004
Nearly 700 students, faculty and staff were evacuated from Putnam City's Wiley Post Elementary school on Friday afternoon when a propane leak was discovered outside the building.
Major Brian Stanaland of Oklahoma City's fire department said the valve on a 500-gallon propane gas tank broke when it rolled off a forklift onto a parking lot at the school. Workers were repairing the school roof following hailstorm damage, and had been trying to move the tank when it fell, the Daily Oklahoman reported.
Firefighters evacuated the school's roughly 650 students and 45 staff members after the leak was discovered, and police road blocks prevented access to the school, Stanaland said. No injuries were reported.
District spokesman Steve Lindley said some students were taken to a nearby park, and other students were moved to the far end of the playground away from potential danger.
Brian Stanaland said firefighters were repairing the tank's valve on Friday evening, but would have to transfer the contents to another tank before leaving the scene.
|
CURRENT NEWS
|
