Propane Leak Sparks Fire During Firefighting Training Exercise

The control tower at Salt Lake International Airport in Salt Lake City, UT was evacuated Wednesday night when a firefighting training exercise at the airport's training facility suddenly turned real.

A pipe attached to one of two 12,000-gallon propane tanks that are used to facilitate aircraft crash scenarios began leaking during the exercise and burst into flames. Fearing an explosion, fire officials ordered a two mile evacuation perimeter, according to KTVX-4.

According to SLC spokesperson Barbara Gann, the airport tower and a SkyWest facility were evacuated around 11:40 p.m. There were six arrivals and one departure on the schedule until 2 am. but none of the flights were affected by the fire, she said. Only one runway was closed during the incident. 

Dennis McKone, Fire Chief of the Salt Lake City Fire Department, told the Salt Lake Tribune a hazmat team turned off the main gas supply and firefighters let the fire burn, allowing it to exhaust itself.

An unmanned fire vehicle was initially being used to pump water on the fire, but it ran out of fuel. There is also a machine at the training center that automatically directs streams of water on the tanks to keep them cool during training as a precaution against an explosion and it was operating at the time, McKone said.

As of midnight Wednesday, the airport remained operational and controllers were relocated to another building. There are no residences in the evacuation area.

Various fire agencies throughout the Western US use the Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighter Training Center. It is owned and operated by the airport, according to McKone.

The incident is under investigation.

FMI: www.slcairport.com