A north-east garage was evacuated yesterday amid fears a gas cylinder could explode.
Fire crews rushed to I&K Motors in Highclere Way, Inverurie, shortly before 2pm after a report of a flashback on a bottle containing extremely flammable oxyacetylene gas.
If an oxyacetylene cylinder catches fire it can cause an explosion covering a 200m radius.
People were hurried out of the showroom and workshop as firefighters went to make the site safe.
Nobody was hurt in the incident. Police closed Burghmuir Road between Blackhall Drive and Brankie Road until around 4.15pm.
A fire service spokeswoman said: “We were called out after a report of a gas cylinder fire. It was extinguished using a ground monitor. A thermal imaging camera was also in use.
“There were also two pumps there. The premises had to be evacuated.”
Oxyacetylene is used for welding and cutting metals and it comes compressed in large metal cylinders. It can form an explosive atmosphere in the presence of air or oxygen.
A flashback happens when the flame returns to the source of the gas.
The gas burns at 3,300C, a temperature hotter than any other combination of fuel gases. It can be lethal if ignited.
The Health & Safety Executive say: “If a cylinder filled with compressed acetylene gas is exposed to a flashback, it starts to warm up or vibrate. If a cylinder was involved in a fire, its contents may have begun to decompose.
“This process can become self-sustaining causing the cylinder to explode, in some cases hours after the initiating event, effectively creating a time-bomb.”
The fire service introduced new guidelines in 2003, saying that a 200m exclusion zone should be created and the cylinders should be cooled for 24 hours.
A spokesman from I & K Motors said that the canister had a “flashback arrestor”, which prevents the flame going back into it. He said: “The fire service had to come out to do a standard procedure to make sure that the bottle isn’t a risk. There was no damage.”
