Strand Street in Christiansted remained closed Tuesday evening as a propane delivery truck, which malfunctioned Monday morning, continued to leak flammable gas in the parking lot between the Holger Danske and Caravelle hotels.
St. Croix Fire Chief Angel Torres said there was no longer any immediate threat to the public as measures had been taken to dilute the fumes and limit the chance of ignition.
In a press release issued by Government House, it was estimated that the truck contained approximately 2,500 pounds of fuel when the leak began and was down to around 1,000 pounds as of Tuesday evening.
Torres said the Fire Service is coordinating with the owner of the truck, Antilles Gas Corporation, and two attempts were made Tuesday to transfer the remaining fuel to a second truck. Both attempts failed, he said.
If the fuel cannot be transferred, Torres says the Fire Service will allow the truck to drain on its own.
The press release claimed that doing so would cause little environmental harm.
It isn’t clear exactly when the truck began leaking propane, but Torres said it was sometime Monday morning, perhaps as early as 6 a.m. The Fire Service was not notified until after 5 p.m., however, raising questions about the gas company’s response.
The press release said that a malfunction in the trucks “delivery mechanism” caused it to begin leaking liquid propane. The release denied rumors that the truck had been in an accident or flipped over.
According to the release, Antilles Gas attempted to contain the leak on its own before contacting authorities, but did not specify why the company waited so long before calling for help.
Local business owners expressed concern that they were not notified of the potentially dangerous situation as it was unfolding
Sandra Schiesz, owner of Island Maxx Boutique, which is adjacent to the parking lot, said no one from Antilles Gas warned her about the leak.
She said she had customers coming and going through the shop, just a few dozen yards from the propane truck, all day long. She only learned about the leak from an associate later that evening after the store was closed.
Molly Buckley, owner of St. Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventures, said she did not learn of the incident “until we got into town this morning and were turned away by police.”
She also expressed frustration that no one warned her of the situation on Monday.
“There wasn’t enough communication from the management of Antilles,” she said.
Another business owner, who wished to remain nameless, said one of their employees was smoking a cigarette in the vicinity of the propane truck Monday and that no one warned him to stop.
Torres did not know why Antilles waited to alert the public but confirmed that it was a mistake not to do so sooner.
“The company itself should have … known what kind of situation they had on hand, and they should have called us,” he said.
Torres added that by not doing so, “it placed everybody in a higher risk of danger.”
Multiple phone calls were placed to Antilles on Tuesday for comment. The employee who answered the phone said the manager would have to speak on the matter, but the manager was out of the office all day.
When the leak was reported Monday night, the Fire Service coordinated with the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency and several local agencies to gain control of the situation.
The Holger Danske and Caravelle hotels were evacuated and a large section of downtown Christiansted was cordoned off by police. Barriers could be seen on King Street on Monday night and traffic was rerouted around downtown.
Police moved their barriers closer to the propane truck Tuesday, opening King Street and allowing life to return to normal for much of the town. Strand Street remained closed, however, and the businesses between Strand Lane and King Cross Street north of King Street were not allowed to open.
As of Tuesday night, these businesses, including the hotels, remain closed. None of the business owners contacted had been told when they could reopen.
Torres said he was not sure how long it would take for the propane truck to empty, but said the Fire Service would assess the situation first thing Wednesday morning.
