Fatal Tank Explosion
from the February, 2002 issue of Undercurrent
Ron Scherrer, a 72-year-old owner of the Dive
Center in Sebastian, FL, died last November
when a scuba tank he was filling ruptured and
blew out part of his shop. The explosion split
the tank wide open and shattered a concrete cooling tub. Fragments of
concrete caused massive chest and head trauma, which killed Scherrer
instantly.
Bill High, president of Professional Scuba Inspectors, reports that the
tank was an older 72-cubic-foot steel model. It evidently had not been
hydrostatically tested since 1991, yet somehow passed a visual inspection
in 1999. Based on High’s preliminary investigation of photos from the
scene, it appears that the tank’s interior was badly pitted from corrosion.
The case is under investigation by local police and the shop’s insurance
carrier.
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