FARMINGTON, Maine (AP) - A technician who filled a propane tank days before a deadly explosion last year in Farmington failed to perform a required check for leaks, the Maine Fuel Board determined.
The board fined, reprimanded and suspended the C.N. Brown Energy employee for failing to perform the check that was required because the tank had been completely emptied.
After being refilled, the contents of the tank leaked from a line that was ruptured by installation of a metal post, and some of the gas entered the basement of the LEAP Inc. building.
The explosion four days later destroyed the building, killed Farmington fire Capt. Michael Bell and injured seven other people.
A C.N. Brown spokesman didn’t return a message seeking comment on the consent decree, reached this month.
It was the latest penalty stemming from the explosion.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the company that installed the post without first checking for underground utilities, and the nonprofit company that used the building was cited.
The town of Farmington also paid fines for failing to ensure firefighters had proper training and equipment.
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