Background

From the time I received my engineering degree, until today, I have spent my entire working life around fuel gases. It started with acetylene, quickly spread to LP-Gas (bottle gas), and thence to natural gas. When I graduated, I started work for a company (which I later purchased) that was involved in heavy welding of construction equipment. Regular, and sometimes highly sophisticated, cutting of steel with oxy-acetylene equipment was the norm. Storage, handling, and proper use of both oxygen and acetylene became part of the every day.

This company became the first independent company in the United States to repair and retest cylinders under license of the Bureau of Explosives (B of E). The B of E was a division of the Association of American Railroads. Some years later the federal Department of Transportation (DOT) was formed, and within that, the Office of Hazardous Materials (OHM).

From rebuilding of LP-Gas cylinders, the company branched out into the fabrication of LP-Gas tank trucks. These trucks, similar to the trucks that deliver home heating oil, were also under the control of the OHM. They consisted of a 3,000 gallon pressure vessel mounted on a truck chassis, with semi-automatic valves, a pump, a meter, and a hose reel. The entire package was designed and engineered with safety and efficiency as the parameters.

Soon, this company was designing and constructing propane-air plants for industrial firms. A propane air plant is a system that stores liquid propane in large quantities (usually at least 30,000 gallons), pumps it through a vaporizer, carefully and precisely blends the vapor with just the right amount of air, and feeds the resulting mixture into the piping of the manufacturing plant to be used as a substitute for natural gas. This is usually referred to as "standby propane-air" and is popular in areas where the natural gas supply is subject to curtailment. To design and engineer installations of this type required an intimate knowledge of industrial propane equipment such as vaporizers and gas-air mixers. Obviously, knowledge of codes and regulations was a necessity.

Fortunately, none of this technical experience resulted in knowledge of gas fire and explosions. That came about through a different avenue. In 1984, I was contacted by a forensic engineering firm to assist them in determining why a building had suffered an explosion and fire. Specifically, they wanted to know if propane was the cause, and if so why. I found the answers they were looking for, and have been doing this type of "origin and cause" work, in some form or another, ever since.

For the next several years, I did this type of field investigation as a sideline to my "real" occupation, which was the business that I owned. Today, I have put the world of business behind me and devote 100% of my time to investigating fuel gas incidents and using my findings to support any subsequent litigation that may arise. Although I am based on the east coast, I can, and do, readily travel to other areas on assignment. In recent years I have had cases in more than 30 states plus the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. A representative sample from each state is listed on the Experience page.