A familiar household propane supplier, Blue Rhino, reached a settlement with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) after an explosion injured several of their employees in Florida and the administration investigated the accident.

On July 29, 2013 there was a massive explosion at the Tavares, FL plant that lit almost 600,000 pounds of propane on fire. Employees reported that their cars out in the parking lot were melted, propane tanks and burning pieces of metal flew through the air and residents nearby had property damage. Ten workers were injured, four of whom were badly burned.

Employees had been venting leftover gas from used tanks and used a forklift to move them around. The forklift was not explosion proof and it sparked and ignited the propane, causing an intense explosion.

The company was cited for allowing employees to use a forklift that was not explosion proof. They were also cited for failing to train their employees on how to respond to a propane hazard, not making sure they wore the proper protective equipment and for not following safety standards on storing propane tanks. They will have to pay $52,000 for the penalties and address the hazards within 60 days.

None of the violations were listed as willful, and a spokesman from the parent company to Blue Rhino Ferrellgas Partners LP, said that their own internal investigation determined that several employees were not following established company procedures at the time.

Employees disagreed that they were at fault, and some are suing the company for negligence. Defendants in the suit include management from the company, the forklift company who had previously serviced the vehicle, and a staffing agency used to place at least one of the employees. Employees also say that they had to meet a quota during each shift which they say took precedence over safety precautions.