Joshua Seemungal
Senior Multimedia Journalist
joshua.seemungal@guardian.co.tt
Still feeling that cheery Christmas feeling, single mother Alicia Seales began cooking a home meal for her two children—nine and five years old. Earlier in the morning, on December 27, 2023, she changed her 20-pound liquid petroleum gas cylinder.
Minutes after she began cooking, standing by her stove, a loud sound, like a powerful gust of wind, swooped through the kitchen. The home’s festive warmth was engulfed by a life-threatening inferno.
“I didn’t want my house to burn down. I started to panic. I started to throw water. My curtains started to burn up. The whole gas tank head melted off. The ceiling began to melt as well. So I put my hand to take off the head of the gas tank, and that didn’t work. I took a cloth to cover up the gas tank and tried to pull it away to get it outside before it blew up.
“I put the children out of the house. Even though I was getting burned, I was not feeling any pain. The last resort—I had a steel rocking chair. I took that, and I pulled the gas tank, and I rolled it outside. I started to faint because I was starting to feel a lot of pain,” Seales remembered.
Seales was rushed to a nearby health centre and treated for burns to her legs and hands. The skin on her fingers ballooned with blisters, she said, while ripe, red flesh mixed with dark, crusty skin ran down her legs from her thighs to her ankles.
Two days later, still in immense pain, she called Ramco, whom she assumed was the manufacturer of the gas cylinder. Ramco sent an insurance adjuster to inspect, but it was a Trinidad and Tobago National Petroleum Marketing Company (NP) cylinder. Ramco sent the information, with pictures, over to NP. She did not hear from the state company for six months.
“Even though I was burnt like this, I had to go through life—taking care of my children. It was tough. When the distributor called six months later, he was rude. He said he could not be responsible for NP selling a faulty gas tank,” she said.
“NP is being unreasonable because they are not responding. When the person from NP came, they just threw some soap water around the gas tank and asked me if I called the fire station. I told him look how long I have been waiting for you to come. He said he had other things to handle.”
Seales came forward with her story because she believes it can happen to anyone. “Apparently, this type of gas tank has leaks all the time, and nobody is accountable for it. This has been traumatic because of what could have happened to my children and because of the burns I got. I want to bring awareness. I don’t cook anymore at all. People send food for me and cook for me,” Seales added.
On the morning of October 22, 2020, Morvant resident Theron Adams was boiling eggs after returning home from a 12-hour security shift. After stepping away from the kitchen, he heard the same sound that Alicia Seales reported swooping through his home.
When he ran back, the area surrounding his 20-pound NP gas cylinder was on fire. “My whole leg got burned. I missed work for five to six days. I couldn’t put on long pants because my leg got burned trying to put out the fire. I didn’t have a fire extinguisher, so I had to use water to try and out it.
“Initially, I didn’t think my injuries were so bad. I didn’t have transport to the general hospital, so I went to the Morvant Health Centre. It was probably my fault that I didn’t go to the hospital. And because I didn’t have a claim from the hospital, NP told me I didn’t have any case,” Adams recalled.
According to Adams, NP never sent someone to inspect his claim that its gas tank was responsible for the fire. Instead, he was advised to return the tank. “They didn’t even want to give me back a gas tank because they were telling me—’Oh, well, that gas tank burned up.’ I ended up giving it to the people picking up scrap iron. I couldn’t afford a lawyer—I am working security, and I have children to care for and rent to pay—so I let them sweep it under the rug. Many people are saying they are buying small gas tanks, and it only lasts two weeks,” he said.
In November 2022, Joy Liverpool-Olliviere was left traumatised after her NP 20-pound gas cylinder caught fire while her son was cooking. “My son lit the stove, and that caught fire first, and when he turned it off and was going to turn off the knob on the gas tank head, the gas tank caught fire, and he got burned on his whole left hand and chest.
“Yes, it was a leaking tank. My husband used to work at NP, and he said it was,” she added.
Earlier in 2022, fire officer Jobe—last name withheld—was awoken, at around 2 am, from his bed by a loud explosion. His stepmother was cooking earlier in the night, but she turned the stove off, ate, and went to sleep.
“The whole roof and everything moved. It was like a movie. You just heard vroom and particles were falling all over the place. I was wondering if I was dreaming. My father’s room is close to the kitchen, so they got the full blast. I said let me walk through the house to see if anything is really happening, and when I reached the kitchen, I heard them bawling and calling for me.
“Our tank was situated under the kitchen sink. I was dashing it with water, but the fire started to spread. I calmed myself and tried to extinguish the fire. It wasn’t an outing, but I remembered that you are supposed to take a damp sheet or something that could smother the fire to starve the oxygen. The gas tank was extinguished, but the line still had fire. I clipped off the head and threw it in the back of the house. While carrying it, I was wondering in the back of my mind if it would explode. The fire on the line then outed by itself,” he recalled.
Like Seales and Adams, Jobe believed leaking gas from their 20-lb NP gas cylinder was the cause of the fire. He said an electrical outlet likely ignited the leaking gas. “The gas tank was defective because we put the head on a new gas tank to check the head, and it wasn’t the head. We buy it from a grocery. It was NP.
“The seals could have dry rotted and broken up. Everything has a lifespan. So probably the gas tanks went into service, and maybe they are not checking it thoroughly enough. Sometimes when you go to a mini-mart or wherever to buy gas, when you watch the condition you are getting the tanks in, not even a repaint. Some of the tanks bend up. Do you know how many defective tanks I’ve seen?” the fire officer said.
Calls for investigation
In October 2020, the president of the non-governmental organisation Rebuild TT, Gregory Lal-Beharry, wrote to former NP CEO John Gormandy calling for an investigation into the company’s 20-pound LPG cylinders.
According to Lal-Beharry, two tanks of LPG gas that he purchased finished ‘in record time.’ “Firstly, the black rubber “O” rings on the tank are now thinner … That “O” ring is critical to sealing the regulator onto the tank. Secondly, I was unable to detect the gas had been leaking, because the odorant, which is added for that exact purpose, was of such small quantity in the gas that I smelt nothing. This situation could have become disastrous, and a flash explosion could have occurred.
“Since then, I have discovered the issue to be widespread throughout the country. Distributors have complained about the numerous tanks being returned and the multitude of complaints they receive daily …
“I am urging NP to take action immediately BEFORE there is another flash explosion, such as one recently in Tobago where a woman subsequently died,” he wrote.
* Lal-Beharry was referring to the June 2020 death of Mona Walters, a Tobagonian grandmother from John Dial. She died in a home fire caused by a leaking LPG cylinder. Her three grandchildren, including an eight and ten year old, were also injured. It’s unclear who the manufacturer of the tank was.
* More recently, in October 2023, a Piarco woman sustained burns after her 20-lb tank exploded in her apartment. Ann-Marie Augustine suffered first- and second-degree burns to her legs.
* In November 2022, 70-year-old Ingrid Sandiford was treated at San Fernando General Hospital for burns after a gas tank caught fire at her home.
* Also that month, an 88-year-old woman, Zubida Mohammed, was killed in a fire at her Tunapuna home. Tenants reported smelling gas and told the media they believed the fire was caused by a leaking gas tank.
* In December 2021, a 66-year-old man was seriously injured after his gas tank exploded while cooking on Christmas morning. He received burns across 65 per cent of his body.
BOX
NP: We receive complaints from time to time; accessories to blame
Guardian Media’s Investigations Desk also spoke with a top official at NP off the record. According to the official, “There may be an odd incident (of leaking cylinders), but that is few and far between.”
The executive insisted it would be strange if a person reported that they purchased more than one leaking cylinder. Guardian Media told the official that upwards of 20 people complained of having repeated issues.
The official responded by saying, “20 persons out of a million (tanks in circulation) isn’t bad.”
“There are common sense things you do. Normally, you are supposed to take some soapy water. That way you are protecting yourself,” the source said.
In response to Guardian Media’s questions, NP confirmed it receives claims of leakages from time to time from consumers.
“Investigations have shown that the issues contributing to validated leakages are multi-faceted. All cylinders on the market are Certified Department of Transport DOT 4BA/4BW cylinders; as such, the cylinders are of high quality, solid, and not prone to leaking.
“Challenges, however, do arise with attachments to the cylinders, specifically hoses and regulators, where inappropriate accessories are used by customers,” NP’s Communications Department wrote.
According to NP, every cylinder is checked for leaks before leaving the filling plant using a leak detection machine. It said that, in addition, random samples are pulled throughout the day, and a soapy water test is conducted for leaks to ensure that the leak detection machine is working properly.
“These cylinders are manufactured in DOT-certified plants, and NP engages an approved, independent DOT inspector to conduct batch inspections on each batch of new cylinders manufactured, which includes both destructive and non-destructive testing. These quality control systems ensure that the quality of the cylinders is optimal …
“Once a customer complaint is made to the Customer Service Department, the LPG distributor investigates the issue, collects any alleged leaking cylinders and replaces them with a new, filled cylinder. The cylinder in question is returned to the filling plants for inspection,” NP stated.
NATPET Investments Company Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of NP, is responsible for filling, testing, and refurbishing of LPG cylinders.
NATPET operates an LPG filling plant on NP’s compound at National Drive, Sea Lots, and is one of two filling plants in Trinidad.
According to the Irish Health and Safety Authority, LPG may leak as a gas or liquid. It said if the liquid leaks, it quickly evaporates and forms a relatively large cloud of gas that will drop to the ground, as it is heavier than air.
It said that LPG vapours can run for long distances along the ground and that when the gas meets a source of ignition, it can burn or explode. It can also cause cold burns to the skin and act as an asphyxiant at high concentrations. Because of the dangers of leaking LPG, a chemical called ethyl mercaptan is added, which gives off the scent of rotten cabbages if gas is leaking.
BOX
NP advises consumers to take these precautions
* Remove the seal in the presence of the vendor and ensure the valve is leak-free by doing a soapy water test.
* Do not accept a cylinder that shows any sign of leakage, damage, or missing rubber.
* If a cylinder is not to be used immediately, store it in a cool, well-ventilated area.
* When ready to attach the cylinder to the stove, position the cylinder upwind or at least five feet from the cooking appliance or any ignition source.
* Ensure the stove and regulator are switched off before attaching the regulator to the cylinder valve.
* It is recommended that the regulator be turned off when the stove is not in use.
Continuing tomorrow