Firefighters Respond to Propane Leak at Caraluzzi's

Firefighters were called to gas leak after a hose ruptured at a propane filling station behind Caraluzzi's supermarket Monday afternoon.

No one was injured and firefighters were able to turn off the gas valve a few minutes after arriving shortly before 3 p.m., officials said.

Workers were filling a 20-pound propane container – typically used in backyard grills – from a larger 500 gallon tank when they discovered a leak in the rubber hose, Hook and Ladder Fire Chief Jason Rivera said.

Employees inside Caraluzzi's were able to remotely turn off power to the tank from inside, but that did not prevent the propane from continuing to leak out of the tank, causing a sizeable vapor cloud, described to be a large plume of white smoke, to fill the fenced in area around the large tank, Rivera said.

"It's a dangerous situation," the fire chief said of the propane leak. "It's flammable."

The vapor cloud dissipated some as the propane gas that leaked out of the hose froze as it came into contact with the air, Rvera said. Firefighters also sprayed water to help disperse the vapor cloud, which allowed firefighters to get close enough to the tank to turn off the valve to the broken hose, Rivera said.

At no point did the 500 gallon tank rupture, officials said. A representative of Mitchell Oil and Propane also responded and was slated to make the necessary repairs to the hose, Rivera said.

By about 3:15 p.m., firefighters were rolling up their hose and making moves to leave the scene.