Propane Leak Closes 131st Avenue and Possibly Convenience Store

Nick Masri stood outside his convenience store and watched the buzzing activity in his parking lot.

Fire trucks and emergency vehicles swarmed to E. 131st Avenue Thursday afternoon in response to a leaking underground propane tank at .

“I’m worried about what’s happening with it,” Masri said.

The 18,000-gallon tank is 80 percent full, according to Robert Stokes, division chief of Hillsborough County Fire Rescue. Someone at the hospital smelled propane and called authorities. They’ve been at the scene since around 2:30 p.m. They closed E. 131st Avenue between N. 23rd and N. 27th streets.

“This is a safety precaution,” Stokes said.

The propane is leaking out of the tank as a vapor, not a liquid, he explained. Fire Rescue officials can’t stop the leak, but they working with Heritage Propane to offload the liquid propane inside the tank.

“It’s not a simple fix,” Stokes said.

The process could take between five and 10 hours, and that’s the best-case scenario. Worst-case scenario: workers burn off the propane, which could take 30 hours.

“We’re gonna get it out one way or another,” Stokes said.

The road will remain closed until the propane is offloaded.

None of the nearby business have been evacuated.

“Y’all still open?” a customer asked Masri as he slid by the yellow caution tape that was set up in front of the Kwik Stop.

Masri nodded. Emergency vehicles took up much of his parking lot, and officials rerouted buses from the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit hub across the street through a path in front of the store. Pedestrians were the only ones walking in.

Masri said he’s owned the Kwik Stop for 15 years and never seen anything like this before. Back inside among the soda and snacks, Masri weighed his options.

“I’m gonna let them go home,” he said, gesturing toward his employees. “There’s no reason for wasting their time.”