By Patti Dozier
patti.dozier@gaflnews.com
THOMASVILLE — Residents of about 200 dwellings in Ochlocknee and the surrounding area were evacuated Saturday night when propane gas leaked from a large tank.
A passerby detected the leak, which could be smelled as far as two miles away.
A valve designed to release pressure malfunctioned.
“The valve did release, but it did not close off,” said Ronnie Bass, general manager of Plantation Propane Inc., owner of the tank.
An undetermined amount of vapor was released. Pointing out that escaped vapor cannot be weighed, Bass estimated that 1,200 to 1,500 gallons of vapor escaped.
The tank is located at the intersection of U.S. 19 North and Ga. 188. The leak was detected between 8 and 8:30 p.m.
“Everyone had to be evacuated from their home within 1 1/2 miles of the tank,” said Senior Lt. Ron James, Thomas County Sheriff’s Office patrol commander.
“A lot of them just refused to leave,” James added.
E-911’s emergency phone notification system alerted affected residents to the danger.
A shelter was prepared to open for evacuees who had no place to stay, but the facility was not needed.
The danger was cleared about 11:30 p.m., and residents were allowed to return to their homes.
U.S. 19 was closed. Traffic was detoured to Ga. 188 and Ga. 3.
Chris Jones, Thomas County Fire Department chief, said a strong odor of propane permeated the area.
Grady County Electric Membership Corp. shut off power to prevent sparks that could have caused an explosion.
Jones said the propane odor was strong half a mile away and was detected two miles away by an emergency worker en route to the site.
“It was a very, very hazardous situation,” the chief said, adding that it is rare for a pressure-release valve to malfunction.
A limb falling from a tree onto power lines could have caused an electrical arc and ignited the vapors, Jones explained.
“That would have been devastating,” he said.
Bass said the tank at Ochlocknee is the Thomasville company’s only Thomas County propane facility of its kind. One is located in Pelham and another in Moultrie.
“Everything has been serviced and is back in working order at this time,” Bass said late Monday afternoon.
Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820.
