Victoria, TX – A propane leak caused a Victoria home to explode, killing a 26-year-old woman, injuring her infant daughter and damaging homes a quarter of a mile away, according to a state report.
The Texas Railroad Commission found that two manual valves to the pipes supplying propane to the fireplace were in the open position. A switch that controlled a third valve from inside the house also was on.
The May 28 explosion killed Haley Singer, who was likely starting her morning with a microwaved bowl of oatmeal, according to the commission’s report.
Firefighters miraculously found her daughter, Parker, in the rubble. Parker was treated for small cuts. She turned 1 year old Thursday.
Two key issues in the explosion remain unclear and may not be fully answered until after years of litigation:
First, was propane flowing into the home because all three valves were open, or was the valve controlled by the switch inside malfunctioning?
Second, why did the Singers not smell the propane beforehand?
Travis Singer removed the gas log from the fireplace and had used it a few times to burn actual wood, according to the state report. He told investigators that two days before the explosion, children were playing with the switch. He said he ensured that both the two manually controlled valves, as well as the switch, were off afterward. The couple smelled propane only briefly then.
The two-story wood-framed home at 801 Whispering Oaks Drive was built in 1996, but remodeled before the Singers moved in, according to the Bexar County Fire Marshal’s report.
A tag on the valve controlled by the switch stated it should be installed horizontally, but it was vertical when the commission inspected it after the blast.
The Singers’ 250-gallon propane tank, manufactured by Trinity Industries Inc., was not damaged. After the explosion, the commission conducted a sniff test and took a sample of the propane.
The investigators found they could smell it, and sent the sample to Bison Engineering.
Bison Engineering found the propane had more than the recommended amount of odorant, or 5.9 pounds of ethyl mercaptan per 10,000 gallons of propane. The National Fire and Protection Association recommends there be 1 pound of ethyl mercaptan per 10,000 gallons of propane.