UPDATE: A hydrogen tank is expected to be vented Friday.
Gates, N.Y.- Monroe County authorities are trying to determine what caused a hydrogen tank explosion near the Rochester International Airport Thursday afternoon.
The explosion happened at the Monroe County Green Alternative Fueling Station on Scottsville Road around 12:45.
The main runway of the airport was closed after the explosion, but was reopened less than two hours later.
County Executive Maggie Brooks and Airport Director David Damelio held a press briefing Thursday afternoon, telling reporters the explosion involved two tanks.
Robert Scruggs, 61, a Praxair employee, was driving an 18-wheel truck with a compressed-hydrogen tank to the station. The plan was to replace empty tanks with full ones.
According to Damelio, this happens about once a month at the fueling station.
Suddenly, a partly used hydrogen tank exploded into flames which quickly spread to the truck with the full tank, which also exploded.
Monroe County Fire Coordinator Sam DeRosa was in the building right across the street. He said he dropped to the floor when he heard the explosion.
"Everything outside my window was orange," DeRosa said. "I immediately reversed myself out of the office, and got out into the main suite, evacuated the employees."
DeRosa called for back-up, bringing in crews from the Rochester Fire Department, the airport fire department and the Gates Fire District.
When the crews realized the tanks were leaking hydrogen, they decided the safest way to handle it was to let the hydrogen burn out.
"If you look around, there's nothing that it could have really ignited and started a whole group of problems," DeRosa said.
Letting the gas burn meant crews had to move a half a mile away, and keep others away from the area.
"We did evacuate all the buildings across the street, all the buildings down towards the Paul Road side and evacuated everything to 390," DeRosa said.
It took about 90 minutes for the hydrogen to burn out. Firefighters then moved in, using foam to put out the remainder of the fire on the two tanker trucks.
Two people were injured in the explosion, including Scruggs of Geneva, Ohio. The longtime Praxair employee suffered second degree burns on his hands and face, but is in satisfactory condition at Strong Memorial Hospital.
A 20-year-old female employee was injured when she leaned out of a nearby Burger King drive-thru window to see what the explosion was. She suffered minor injuries.
A spokeswoman for Praxair said the company has a team investigating the explosion, but couldn't comment any further.
Fueling tanks for the airport are stored nearby.
"We are absolutely fortunate that this was not worse than it was," said Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks.
The cause of the explosion is under investigation, but Brooks says there are no indiciations it was anything other than an accident. DeRosa said he suspects a leak or breach in one of the lines is to blame.
