Upcoming problems in supplies of one pound propane bottles will start very soon. The Coleman plant in Kansas, near Witchita, blew up during a repair process in their bottle filling room. Damages to the plant were estimated at $750,000. Several employees were hurt, but none were killed. Coleman accounts for over half the one pound bottles sold world-wide. There is only one other facility that manufactures these bottles and they're at capacity now. Get ready for a shortage, at least until the supply line gets refilled again.

An insider who knows...

-- Just Soyuno (gnguzo@expc.com), November 23, 1999

Answers

Thanks for the heads up, Just So. Northern Supply is carrying an adapter which will fill 1# bottles from the 20#, 30# and 40# bottles. Its going for $16.

-- ..- (dit@dot.dash), November 23, 1999.

When did this happen at the Wichita plant?

-- (normally@ease.notnow), November 23, 1999.

Can't find Northern Supply. URL Please.

-- Lumber Jack (johnsellis@webtv.net), November 23, 1999.

Coleman blast hospitalizes three

Plant temporarily shuts down production while explosion and fire are investigated.

By Beccy Tanner and Phyllis Jacobs Griekspoor

Three employees of the Coleman Beacon Plant near Maize remained in serious condition today at the Via Christi St. Francis Burn Center following an explosion and flash fire at the plant early Sunday. Cornelius Mitchell, 25, Todd Lassley, 30, and Kenneth Quinton, 29, suffered burns while fixing a ruptured propane hose that may have caused the explosion. A hospital official said all three men suffered second- or third-degree burns over 15 percent to 20 percent of their bodies. At this point, she said, theirinjuries are painful but not life-threatenin Three other workers were injured in the blast, but were not hospitalized. Their names have not been released. Coleman officials said the explosion occurred shortly after 1 a.m. on the westside of the plant at 5605 N. 119th Street W. It was in a room where workers monitor the automated operations of propane gas cylinders being filled. "It was characterized as a flash fire. It was over in seconds," said Jim Reid, director of Coleman's public relations. Dale Reif, community policing officer with the Maize Police Department, said the explosion was heard as far away as Valley Center. Authorities estimted damages to the plant at more than $750,000. Shortly before the explosion, there was a report that a pressure hose had ruptured. "The system had been shut down and they were in the process of making a maintenance fix," Reid said. Mitchell and Lassley are production workers at Coleman and Quinton is assigned to maintenance. Reid said production workers are responsible fo monitoring machinery and it was not unusual that production workers would respond to a ruptured hose. Reid said he is not intimately familiar with the operations of the fill room and did not know if a rupture to a hose is something maintenance workers deal with regularly. "I know that they are checked routinely and replaced, but I don't know how unusual it might be to have one rupture," he said. Families of the victims were "supporting one another" and Coleman representatives were in contact with them. Sheriff, police and fire departments responded from Colwich, Wichita and Sedgwick County. The Maize plant employs about 120 workers to manufacture and fill the one-pound propane cylinders used to fuel lanterns, stoves and torches. Thirty-five employees were at the plant Sunday morning. The company has temporarily shut down production while authorities investigate the explosion's cause. The adjacent machine shop and tool and die operation were largely unaffected by the blast, Reid said. Workers at the Maize plant will be offered the opportunity to work at the company's much larger plant in northeast Wichita while the propane cylinder factory is shut down, Reid said. Coleman has almost 1,200 employees in Wichita. The Maize plant had safety features designed to handle just such an accident as the one which occurred Sunday. Wall panels are designed to blow outward to release pressure. "The system performed as it was designed," Reid said. Investigators will continue to search through the scene today, looking for an exact cause of the blast, Reid said. According to Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) standards, an investigation by the federal agency is required in any occupational accident that results in two or more workers being hospitalized, meaning OSHA inspectors will be part of the follow-up investigaton. Online records for OSHA indicate there have been no past complaints or inspections of the Maize plant. One inspection of the Wichita plant in 1986 resulted from a health complaint and found two violations, neither of which resulted in a citation or a fine.

Beccy Tanner can be reached at 268-6336 or btanner@wichitaeagle.com

-- Just Soyuno (gnguzo@expc.com), November 23, 1999.

WalMart propane bottles - pkg of 2 $3.50 - on my way now to pick up some more......

-- got gas? (gotgas@gotgass.xcom), November 23, 1999.

I am not sure if there are more producers of the smaller bottles or not. It seems that they are easier to fine than the 16.4 oZ bottles. Maybe there are more companies who prepare the 14 oz bottles.

The best course would be to use a 20# cylinder with a hose to operate the appliance. My supplier says no shortage of propane itself, but expect some price gouging if the demand is there.

gene

-- gene (elbaler@essex1.com), November 23, 1999.