Explosion in Fort Bend County

By Kevin Peters at KHOU News, Houston
Nerves were rattled late Tuesday night in Fort Bend County when residents near the Sienna Plantation subdivision awoke to an explosion. The blast occurred at a high school, which is currently under construction in the Hillwood development on Waters Lake near Sienna Parkway.

The Fort Bend County Fire Marshal’s Office said a propane tank exploded at the construction site around 11 p.m. Workers had been tarring the roof earlier in the day, and somehow the tank they were using to heat the tar ignited.

A security guard was at the scene when the tank blew, but he wasn’t injured. Still, the blast was loud enough to wake up the neighborhood. Several residents and the security guard called 911 to report it.

“There was reports of a large ball of smoke and fire, and what that was caused by was a propane cylinder,” Robert Baker of the Fort Bend County Fire Marshall’s Office said.

Baker said the blast and subsequent fire did about $50,000 in damage to the roof of the school. Luckily, firefighters were able to get the flames under control quickly once they got to the scene.