LPG Explosion on Asda forecourt in Bristol

Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Chief Chip Branam said. Each tank holds about 8,000 gallons, Branam said.

Once the gas was removed, the tanks were hoisted above ground, where they sat for several days. On Wednesday, nine workers, including Watson and Parker, were removing gas vapours that might have been left in the tanks by either flushing them or filling them with an inert, nonexplosive gas, Branam said.

Workers then used an electric saw to cut large holes in one end of each tank, allowing remaining vapors from the inert gas to escape, Branam said.

But as Watson was cutting into the third tank, an explosion erupted and sent flames shooting into the convenience store, officials said.

“It appears right now that there was a breakdown of some sort in the process and that not all of the gasoline vapors were flushed out before the worker began cutting with the electric saw,” Branam said.

Buildings blocks away shook and plumes of smoke filled the air, causing minor damage at other businesses in the strip mall.

Watson was killed instantly, authorities said. Parker was taken to Tampa General Hospital. He requested that no information about his condition be released to the media, hospital spokeswoman Ellen Fiss said.

The convenience store was empty, and no one else was hurt, Carter said.

Branam said Hillsborough Fire Rescue and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office responded, along with agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the state Fire Marshal's Office.

Investigators with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration also were at the blast site trying to determine the cause, Branam said.

Arecord search of QRC Inc. shows the company has no history of safety violations. Records show the company, at 2326 Sofia Drive in Lutz, is owned by Keith Watson, has 12 employees and has been operating since 1995.

Records also show Keith Watson and Pete Watson have shared addresses in recent years, but it was not clear late Wednesday whether they are related. Phone messages left at QRC Inc. were not returned.

Dave Froehlich, whose wife co-owns Coo's Corner, a collectibles shop a few feet from the gas station in the strip mall, was filling in for his wife when the tank exploded.

“I heard it and felt it at the same time,” Froehlich said. “Liken it to a 1,000pound bomb. Pictures crashed from the wall, clocks fell from the wall. Ceiling tiles fell.”

As firefighters cleaned up the scene, visibly shaken construction crew members gathered in a circle and knelt.

“We are dealing with a tragedy,” said one, declining to give his name. “It was a family member.”

Photographer Kathy Moore-Lengell contributed to this story. Reporter Jill King Greenwood can be reached at (813) 657-4534. Reporter Tom Brennan can be reached at (813) 657-4528.

Photo credits to Domenic LetoBarone and Leslie Pedigo in the Southwest District Office of the Florida DEP in Tampa

Articles APEAAGM/Seminar 2004, April 26th 2004

Introduction

The Annual general meeting of the APEAis to be held at the Marriott Hotel in Northampton on Monday 26 April, all members will receive an invitation to the event at the end of February, but this is an early notification to keep the date free in your diaries.

The business part of the meeting is held in the morning and the new Council (directors) for the coming year will be proposed and elected by the meeting date. Although to many that part of the day may seem a little formal, the process is a necessary part of the Associations rules and articles of association.

The Council members all provide input into the running of the Association and with a wide variety of interests and backgrounds the Council members and Officers work to improve the Association and provide benefit to members.

This year we also have a number of technical papers, which will interest members and we are sure that the following programme will provide those members attending the AGM not only with the chance to participate in the AGM but also provide valuable training and information during the technical sessions.

Agenda

9.30 - 10.30 Arrival/refreshments

10.30 - 11.30 Business session

11.30 - 12.00 Graeme Warnell, BP/Global Alliance e - based maintenance system in a modern retailing environment

12.00 - 12.30 Mr Armin G. Leibundgut/Dr. Carlo Frölichsthal, Export eXess Safety with eXess

12.30 - 2.00 Lunch (2 course buffet)

2.00 - 2.30 Jeremy Foyle, Tesco Above ground tank installation

2.30 - 3.00 Steve Jones, Fairbanks New APEAwebsite

Hotel location:

Marriott Hotel Eagle Drive Northampton NN4 7HW

Tel: +44 (0) 870 400 7252 www.marriott.com

Speaker profiles and presentation descriptions

Graeme Warnell, BP/Global Alliance Currently the UK Network Support Manager for the bp/Global Alliance, graduated from Brunel University in June 1991 and spent 9 months travelling throughout the USA. Greame has 11 years experience in retail petroleum and joined the retail engineering division of Mobil Oil UK in 1992 based in High Wycombe. He then relocated with Mobil to Milton Keynes in 1994 and worked throughout the bp/Mobil joint venture1995 - 96. He joined the bp Global Alliance with Bovis Lend Lease in 1996 to present day.

Specialised in providing maintenance support infra structures , environmental incident management , pressurised fuel systems upgrades and replacement , development of tank relining and stage 1b testing systems in the UK for bp in association with Petroman and King TankTechnic and finally development of e - maintenance solution for bp.

Presentation will be on the development , functionality and benefits of an e - based maintenance system in a modern retailing environment.

Mr. Armin G. Leibundgut - Sales & Marketing Director, Export eXess As a graduate in commercial trade and marketing at the renowned "Feusi" private school in Switzerland, Mr. Leibundgut laid the basis for his experience in international sales and marketing within various industries including several stays abroad. Mr. Leibundgut’s has been with eXess for more than one year and his main tasks include all strategic and administrative activities within the sales & marketing department including customer care. He also acts as a liaison to the Sales Directors and Agents to coordinate their various activities.

Short presentation of the company eXess.

Dr. Carlo Frölichsthal - Sales Director Export, Export eXess 5 Years Economy at the Bocconi University (majoring in International Economy). Various engagements in the field of international sales , among them 2 years in the USA, have furnished Dr. Frölichsthal with a solid track record in international sales and marketing. Dr. Frölichsthal now works for almost three years for eXess®. As a Sales Director Export his main responsibilities are the implementation of the sales network and the presentation of the product worldwide.

Presenting the product eXess®: eXess® has been technically studied for years and recently completed for marketing purposes. The product’s aim is to increase security wherever fuels are stored, transported or in anyway handled. eXess® was born as an explosion suppression system, but offers today further advantages in many other fields like the fire fighting techniques or the environment protection through the HC emissions reduction.

Jeremy Foyle, Tesco Jeremy has now worked for Tesco for 4.5 years working within the Fire & Petroleum Risk Management Team as the Fire & Petroleum Risk Co-ordinator. The team sits within the Tesco Property Team responsible for UK Business Expansion through store development.

Tesco now operates approximately 370 petrol stations and are planning to build approximately 15 new petrol stations in 2004.

Before joining Tesco, Jeremy travelled for a few years to find his feet, of which he achieved as upon his return he undertook a full time degree in Fire Safety engineering at the University of Central Lancashire. Upon graduation Jeremy was immediately employed by Tesco into their management development role.

Jeremy’s current responsibilities are to support the Tesco development programme and implement Tesco Fire & Petroleum policies and initiatives.

Presenting information about the Tesco Ramsgate filing station which was the first uk station to utilise above ground tanks . The presentation will include why it was built issues with the environment agency, why Tesco chose specific equipment and how it was constructed.

Steve Jones, Fairbanks Steve is an ITSystems Development Specialist who co-founded Fairbanks Environmental, and is directly involved in the development of the innovative software that is the basis of the wetstock management services provided by Fairbanks. He is a Computational and Statistical Science graduate with 20 years experience in the ITindustry. In April 2003 Fairbanks’innovative solutions were recognised with the Queens Award for Enterprise.

As a director of Fairbanks Steve’s role is extremely diverse and in addition to overseeing the development and maintenance of Fairbanks’ITsystems he takes responsibility for Fairbanks’finances. Steve is also instrumental in negotiating contracts with major clients both within the UK and in Europe. As many of you will appreciate his role involves being an ambassador for the company and Steve has given presentations in such exotic locations and Penang, Portugal and Preston.

Steve is the APEANorth West Branch Treasurer and a member of The Energy Institute, North West branch committee following the merger of the Institute of Energy and the Petroleum Institute.

Presenting The new APEAWebsite

The new APEAlogo was a catalyst for the Publications Committee to consider the look, feel and functionality of the APEA website. Through a process of consultation a tender document was created and Fairbanks’tender submission was successful. Fairbanks’knowledge of the association allows them to work closely with the Publications Committee and the Business Manager to ensure that the features the association require will be readily available to association members and casual browsers as appropriate.

The purpose of this presentation is to highlight some of the new features available on the website and to encourage the membership to make more use of its facilities including:

Events Calendar Resource Centre Online Discussion Forum Contacts Database The Bulletin Online

What to do if you wish to attend the AGM

Invitations are being sent out to all APEAmembers at the end of February together with the nomination forms and accounts. If you wish to attend please contact Jane Mardell on 01799 502929 or by email at admin@apea.org.uk to reserve your place(s) and return the nomination form to the Honorary Secretary, to the address on the form, if you wish to make a nomination.

Lunch

This year we have arranged a two course sit down hot and cold buffet which will be held in the Mediterrano restaurant and costs £12.50 per person. If you would like to book lunch please contact Jane Mardell on 01799 502929 or by email at admin@apea.org.uk to make your reservation(s).

Articles Spotlight on BPBovis Alliance - Maintenance Division

By Brian Baker, Milton Keynes Council

British Petroleum (BP) are a leading international oil company and here in the UK, operate as one of the 'Big 5' in terms of Retail Petrol Filling Station ownership and operation. The company has an extensive company owned and operated network plus substantial brand representation through its dealers.

Bp in 1996 formed a partnership agreement with Bovis Lend Lease to manage its redevelopment and maintenance requirements. The agreement now extends across Europe and America.

The overall intent of this Agreement is to create a relationship, which will challenges both parties to develop innovative business solutions seeking a major break through in overall performance. BPand the Alliance work together in a spirit of trust and cooperation striving to achieve the goal of continuous performance improvement.

As many readers will know, Milton Keynes Council have worked in partnership with BP Oil UK as Lead Authority for some years now. I have been closely involved with this relationship, and recently had the opportunity to catch up with Graeme Warnell who is the UK Network Support Manager. During our conversation I asked him if he would mind sharing some of his experiences in running a vital operation for his Client's.

Here is what he had to say,

(BB) Graeme, how long have you worked in the industry and BP Bovis in particular?

(GW) I started with Mobil Oils Retail Engineering Division back in Nov 1992 based in High Wycombe when Mobil was establishing its first dedicated maintenance team. After relocating with Mobil to Milton Keynes we merged with bp early in 1996, later that year bp formed its alliance with Bovis. At that time my role was to ensure the smooth integration of the two individual maintenance regimes and adopt the best practice from each. This transfer into the Alliance has meant I have been part of the partnership since day one. (BB) How many Company and dealership sites are you responsible for?

(GW) Approx. 1100 sites in total, approximately 300 company owned with the remainder being a mixture of Dealer, Motorway Service Area or Safeway Partnership sites.

(BB) Roughly, how many maintenance calls do you receive each day and what are the most common faults or defects that require attention?

(GW) Company owned sites tend to place approx. 3.5 calls per month I think the most common maintenance fault that passes through our maintenance systems has to be minor nozzles faults; I would not expect this to be much different for any major petroleum retailer.

After this it would have to be signware or image related calls, bp takes a great pride in its corporate image but unfortunately most signware on the forecourt seems to act as a magnet to customers vehicles!

(BB) The maintenance centre is operated during normal working hours but what out of hour's arrangements in the case of emergencies?

(GW) Outside of normal working hours we operate a duty engineer system whereby we always have an engineer on standby to react to environmental or health and safety emergencies where there is a potential danger to either the staff or the public. Additionally we have back to back 24-hour emergency cover contracts with all our relevant contractors.

(BB) How many are there in your Team and do you have any specialists?

(GW) I currently have a team of 11 working directly for me including specialists in the fields of customer service, fuels, valeting, signware and electrics, security and construction. (BB) In recent times you have overseen personally the development of an electronic fault reporting system. Can you tell us what it is and how has it benefited the client, BPOil UK?

(GW) The e - maintenance system was launched at the beginning of 2003 and is directly linked to all the company owned sites throughout the UK. The system can be accessed either directly by the sites back office computer or via telephone either on or off site. It allows the site manager to log maintenance calls at a time that suits them best, rather than being restricted to placing calls within normal office working hours. The system is based around delivering total transparency throughout the progress of the job. It allows the site manager to operate his business as efficiently as possible and ensures we have real time performance monitoring of all out contractors. The contractors can also access the system to close out, update jobs or upload quotations and safety method statements if required. The performance the contractor sees on their screens is what bp sees at board level, nothing is hidden.

By us having total visibility of any call placed by each site we have almost eradicated all nuisance and abortive calls placed by sites as well as increasing selfhelp for the sites in resolving basic maintenance issues. This proactive call management allows us to escalate any issues immediately and the ongoing result can be seen in reduced equipment downtime on sites.

(BB) In your career, what has been the most difficult incident that you have dealt with?

(GW) Not so much an incident but the most difficult thing I come across is getting people to understand how a sound maintenance strategy can actually drive top line growth within anyone's business. It is not just a question of shoving a man in a van to sort

out a problem; maintenance plays a huge role in assessing and evaluating lifecycle costings and should be central to all procurement and investment strategies.

(BB) I know that you have carried out a tank survey in recent years using a technique known as MTCF (Mean Time to Corrosion Failure). How successful has this been, what have your learned from the survey and what has there been a change of policy by BPOil on installation methods and selection of tanks?

(GW) From studying historical tank failures it became apparent to me that the most common failure period seemed to be between 12 - 17 years. Yet all of our past replacement strategies and indeed legislation at the time always seem to drive towards the fact that the oldest tanks were always the highest risk.

CORRPRO and the Alliance worked together over the last 4 years to deliver the MTCF testing strategy to bp. This process has now been completed on all company owned sites and a significant number within the dealer network. The way in which these sites are risk ranked has now totally changed and as a result there has been significant investment in a proactive tankrelining program with King Tanktechnic and LCM.

I believe the proactive preventative programs we have undertaken on behalf of bp are probably the biggest the UK has ever seen.

(BB) BPis one of only a few operators to install pressure pumped dispensing systems. What are your preferences and why?

(GW) I grew accustomed to pressure systems very early in my career as Mobil installed a significant number within the UK. As with any system provided they are installed and maintained correctly I do not see why people still seem to be wary of them. Any system that can safely pump fuel further and faster to the customer gets my approval. (BB) This may be a business sensitive question, but what sort of annual budget are you responsible for and is there a need to prioritise?

(GW) More than you or I will earn in a lifetime! Yes there is always a need to prioritise, marketing initiatives, budget constraints and even seasonality of the weather mean you have to balance the numbers very carefully throughout the year. It's not about spending less money it's all about ensuring you get best value for what you are paying.

(BB) BPBovis Alliance uses a range of suppliers. Can you briefly describe the selection process and safety validation arrangements you have in operation?

(GW) The main priority for us is safety, we run a safety scheme called Incident and Injury Free - the program is not based around paper work, policies or procedures but is really around every employee in the company and our contractors changing their attitude and behaviour towards safety both at home and at work. We do not see this as a one off commitment, but a journey with our ultimate goal being the creation of an incident and injury free work place for everyone.

(BB) What are the principal differences between maintaining Company Sites and Dealership sites?

(GW) We offer company-operated sites a far wider range of services than we do for dealers. However our commitment to service levels for both company owned sites and dealer operated sites are exactly the same. For company owned sites our maintenance commitments are all encompassing with only the most minor of handy man type jobs being left to each site manager's discretion. Dealers tend to manage the majority of their maintenance issues directly and will have a far better working knowledge of how their forecourts operate and the equipment installed on them. I feel that many of the major oil companies could learn a great deal from their dealer operators, the Roadside Group being the first that springs to mind.

(BB) LPG (Autogas) has seen an increase on UK Forecourts in the last 5 years. What have you found to be the most problematic issues you have had to deal with from a maintenance point of view?

(GW) We had some initial teething problems with LPG, as this was a new product for us to install and maintain. Many of the faults we experience are where the equipment is being used incorrectly, this can be complicated by the numbers of adaptors there are on the market accompanied by the number of different nozzles used by each oil major.

(BB) Graeme, where do you see BP Bovis Alliance going in the future?

(GW) As a result of our excellent longstanding partnering relationship with bp I would like to see the Alliance going forwards shoulder-to-shoulder with bp into new retail markets, globally.

(BB) Do you have any interests outside of work?

(GW) After my family, (I have a 2 year old daughter), my interests are firmly tied to anything that involves sport, beer or both if possible.

(BB) And what of Graeme Warnell, where do you see yourself in the future?

(GW) I still have a lot to do here in the UK but I would always jump at the chance to work abroad with either the Alliance or with Bovis Lend Lease.

(BB) Many thanks for sparing your time Graeme. It is always a pleasure to talk to you and your willingness to share information that helps not just BP Oil but also the UK industry in general.