Hazmat Crews Disable 80-Pound Leaking Propane Cylinder

Prince William County fire and rescue units found an 80-pound propane cylinder aboard an RV motor home in Manassas that was leaking and could not be stopped Monday night.

Fire and rescue units were dispatched to the 10800 block of Balls Ford Road in Manassas at 12:30 p.m. Monday. Once crews realized the cylinder could not be stopped, a Hazmat unit was notified, fire officials said.

As fire and rescue crews awaited arrival of the Hazmat team, an isolation zone was set up in preparation for evacuating the propane from the cylinder.

A Hazmat team decided the safest option to stop the leak was through “flaring operations” or “burning off” propane, which is a quick and safe way to evacuate tanks through the use of a flare stand or propane torch without venting raw propane into the atmosphere, fire officials said.

“Flaring operations were safely and successfully implemented concluding the incident around 3:30 a.m. this morning,” said fire department public information specialist Kim Hylander. “Monitoring was temporarily conducted thereafter to ensure the hazard was no longer present."