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Courtney Orton and Nicole Gonzales reporting Investigators are looking for what could have ignited a natural gas tank at a Questar refueling station near the Jordan School District Office at 500 West and 9200 South. The explosion sent 75-foot flames shooting out and was powerful enough to knock down a concrete jersey barrier.
The tanks are charred, and right next to them there are some burned trees and plants. With the damage the refueling station suffered this morning, it's easy to understand why it is out of commission for at least a couple of days. During that time, investigators will attempt to find out what made one of the tanks explode.
"I heard the first explosion, barely. I wondered what it was, then when the second went off. I thought, ‘Wow! We got to get out of here fast!'" said witness Lorraine Baldwin.
Neighbors living in the mobile home park across the street were the first to call 911, saying they heard an explosion that sounded like a gunshot, then another.
"I woke up because it sounded like a couple of gunshots or something that was going off, just sounded like something shot out," said witness Kyle Sorden.
Baldwin said she gathered everyone and left the house. A police officer tried to comfort her on the street. "He said, ‘No, you should be fine. The safest place is to go back home,' and I said, ‘No, you don't understand. The ground was rumbling under our home,'" she said.
Questar Gas officials say relief valves on three tanks popped off and one caught fire.
"All of a sudden, one of the tanks exploded over there, and there were these flames rushing up and stuff," Sorden said.
Crews from Sandy, South Jordan, West Jordan and Midvale arrived on scene shortly after 4 a.m. They turned off the gas valves and put out the flames.
Since natural gas doesn't ignite on its own, investigators will look for a possible ignition source. "We're looking into everything from mechanical malfunction to possibly someone damaging the pressure relief valves. We just don't know yet," said Darren Shepherd, with Questar Gas.
Questar says the tanks have a limited range of combustion and that the valves are set to release if the pressure gets to high.
This natural gas station is just one of only a couple dozen in Utah, all of which are regulated by the state. Now that it is closed temporarily while investigators look into the explosion, drivers who normally fill up there will have to go somewhere else.
This station and many others are open to the public 24 hours a day with no attendant working. All drivers have to do is pull in, swipe a credit card and fill up. Right now, natural gas costs 64 cents a gallon.
E-mail: corton@ksl.com
E-mail: ngonzales@ksl.com
