Tesco’s prosecution

Tank Explosion Kills Florida Tank Removal Worker

By Jill King Greenwood and Tom Brennan, The Tampa Tribune, published Nov 20, 2003

BRANDON - Richard West was sitting in his living room watching television Wednesday afternoon when a colossal explosion rocked his Hoover Street home.

His children feared the worst.

“We heard the explosion and saw a mushroom-shaped cloud,'' said West, whose two daughters, ages 10 and 14, also were home. “The walls shook. All the cabinets flew open. It sounded just like a bomb. My daughters were yelling, `It's a terrorist attack, it's a terrorist attack!.'''

It wasn't terrorism, but the explosion at a nearby gas station killed one man, critically injured another and left people who live and work in the neighborhood frightened and shaken.

West lives two blocks from what used to be the Victory Market at 11102 Bloomingdale Ave. Agas storage tank blew up there shortly after noon Wednesday, killing construction worker Pete Watson, 33, of Lutz, and seriously injuring co-worker Rick Parker of Winter Haven.

Officials said the blast was sparked by an electric saw that got too close to fumes in one of the gas storage tanks outside the Victory Market.

The market had a small convenience store and gasoline pumps in a strip mall near Providence Road. The business had been closed for a few days for renovations, property owner Carole LaMonte said.

LaMonte said she was having the underground gas storage tanks removed and planned to sell or develop the land for other uses.

“They were old and needed to come out,” LaMonte said.

She contracted with QRC Inc. of Lutz to pump the remaining gas from three tanks buried about 10 feet underground, Hillsborough sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.

The tanks are about 8 feet in diameter, about 30 feet long and made of steel wrapped in fiberglass,