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Washington Post
a day ago
- Washington Post
Propane manager guilty of manslaughter in blast that killed Va. firefighter
After a house in Loudoun County, Virginia, exploded last year, killing a firefighter, prosecutors charged a gas company manager with involuntary manslaughter, saying he failed to take steps to stop a leak from an underground propane tank. On Monday, a Loudoun jury found him guilty of that charge and three misdemeanors related to the gas leak after deliberating for four days. Loudoun firefighter Trevor Brown, 45, was killed instantly by the blast in the county's Sterling area, which leveled a two-story house owned by Kelley Woods. On Feb. 14, 2024, Woods requested a refill of her propane tank, which evidence showed had been previously diagnosed with a leak. When a Southern States Petroleum Service technician began filling the tank two days later, he smelled the telltale odor added to propane and stopped after 125 gallons. The technician called Roger L. Bentley, the service manager, who soon arrived the house on a Friday afternoon. He told Woods the odor 'wasn't a big deal,' according to prosecutors. They said Bentley told Woods that Southern States would return Monday to dig up and replace the tank, which had been installed in 1991. Bentley allegedly told Woods not to worry and that if the odor worsened, Woods should call him, not the fire department, which he predicted would make 'a big deal out of nothing.' Within hours of Bentley leaving, the odor had spread and neighbors called the fire department, who then called Bentley, according to testimony at his trial in Loudoun Circuit Court. Bentley assured the firefighters that the leak was minor, but when the firefighters' gas measurements showed high levels of propane, they evacuated the house and nearby homes around 8 p.m., prosecutors said. Minutes later, the house exploded, sending a thunderous boom across Loudoun and pummeling nearby houses with violent shock waves. Brown, standing in the front yard, was killed by a piece of the house as it shot outward, court records show. Two firefighters were trapped in the basement, while 10 other firefighters and numerous neighbors suffered injuries. Part of the couch Woods had been sitting on minutes earlier was found in a tree. 'He walked away without warning anyone, doing anything and left a land mine,' Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Eden Holmes said of Bentley in her closing argument. She said Bentley 'knew the risk of just allowing propane to flow out into the yard. … If the defendant had not made these choices, this house would not have exploded.' But Bentley didn't smell anything particularly bad, didn't see or hear any evidence of a leak when examining the top of the tank, and his gas detection device only picked up 'a faint residual odor,' defense lawyer Kelly L. King said. She said Bentley repeatedly told investigators that 'he didn't know there was a leak.' Bentley 'didn't walk away from a leak,' King said, trying to shift blame to the homeowner. 'He didn't know. The only one who knew was Kelley Woods. She was obligated to keep that tank safe,' having learned in 2017 that it was damaged and being told in 2021 that it would cost $5,200 to replace the tank. Bentley also told Woods her tank needed to be replaced, but Woods didn't tell him she had previously been told of a leak, King said. 'Somehow it becomes her word that ends up becoming the basis of this prosecution,' King said. Bentley told her to call him any time over the weekend, and that as a 38-year employee with a spotless record, he had no reason to walk away from potential trouble. 'There's not been one shred of evidence that Roger Bentley knew there was a leak,' King said. 'Why come back Monday and take [the tank] out if there isn't a leak?' Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Brian Boyle asked in rebuttal, though he acknowledged Woods never heard Bentley use the word 'leak.' But when Bentley left without taking further action and told Woods not to call the fire department, 'that's the 'callous disregard'' needed to qualify as involuntary manslaughter, Boyle said. Bentley, 68, was indicted by a Loudoun grand jury in October for manslaughter and three misdemeanor counts for releasing hazardous materials and failing to record or mitigate a harmful discharge. The trial started July 7, and the jury deliberated for 23 hours over four days on the four counts. Jurors declined to comment afterward. Sentencing was set for Nov. 6. Bentley, who did not testify during the trial, did not react to the verdict and declined to comment afterward. He was allowed to remain free pending sentencing by Loudoun Circuit Court Judge James E. Plowman Jr. Bentley faces a sentencing range of probation up to 10 years in prison. Loudoun Commonwealth's Attorney Bob D. Anderson said charging Bentley with a crime was intensely discussed within his office, and 'it wasn't an easy decision to make.' But he and his prosecutors decided 'there are repercussions for certain activity. And the jury found that activity required certain repercussions.' James S. Williams, the Loudoun fire chief, called the case 'an important chapter in our overall recovery. But nothing brings Trevor back.' Williams said eight of the firefighters injured that night have returned to duty, but two are still on leave. Bentley and Southern States also face a lawsuit filed in May by Brown's widow, Woods and her tenant, one of the injured firefighters and several neighbors of the house on Silver Ridge Drive. Brown had three children, now ages 12, 10 and 8. Demetry Pikrallidas, a lawyer for three of the plaintiffs, maintained that the explosion was 'a preventable disaster — plain and simple.' Pikrallidas said: 'It was mishandled from the outset. Our position has always been, and remains, that this was the result of a systemic failure by Southern States.' No trial date has been set for the civil case. The leak from the 23-year-old propane tank was determined to be coming from two fingertip-size holes in the bottom of the tank, the lawyers in the case said, which couldn't be seen from the ground. And then below the tank, a french drain had been installed from the basement into the backyard, which investigators believe may have funneled the propane into the house. But the investigators could not determine what sparked the blast, in part because of the annihilation of Woods' home. 'If they can't tell you what the ignition source is,' King said, 'how can they prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Roger Bentley caused it?' To prove involuntary manslaughter, the prosecution had to show that Bentley's actions were 'gross, wanton and culpable to show a callous disregard for human life' and that they were the 'proximate cause' of Brown's death.
News.com.au
01-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Very positive for the gas industry': Omega's Trevor Brown on ADNOC's Santos bid
A consortium led by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company subsidiary XRG made waves last month after it launched a 'final non-binding indicative offer' that valued Australian gas major Santos at close to $30bn. Santos' (ASX:STO) leadership clearly felt the cash offer of US$5.76 ($8.89) per share – representing a 34% premium to the one-month volume weighted average price of $6.61 – valued the liquefied natural gas exporter fairly and recommended the offer, subject to reaching a binding agreement. While there's little doubt that the offer is a positive for Santos shareholders, it could also be a distinct positive for the Australian East Coast gas sector. Omega Oil & Gas (ASX:OMA) managing director Trevor Brown has a storied career in oil and gas with over 35 years' of experience in exploration, development and production in Australia, South East Asia and the US. He also has more than passing familiarity with Santos given that he spent 15 years with the company first leading the Exploration and New Ventures Business, then as its Queensland vice president, where he led the Upstream (Exploration and Production) division of the $25bn Gladstone LNG project through development, construction and start-up. In a chat with Stockhead, Brown touches on his thoughts about the ADNOC offer and what impact it might have. What do you think motivated ADNOC and its partners to make the bid for Santos? That's a good question. I think probably strategic exposure to the LNG sector primarily and Australian resources and resource capability in particular. I think competing offers are possible but I wouldn't like to comment really as it is speculation. In the event that it is successful, what impacts can we expect to see from the takeover for the Australian gas sector? I think the entry of ADNOC to the Australian gas sector could be viewed as a very positive input. It highlights the value and attractiveness of Australian resources in particular and Australian resource capability – the human capability of entering and prosecuting large international projects using Australia's know-how of exploration, appraisal and development. Australia's attractive resource base requires capital and skills to develop and ADNOC will bring both of those. Hopefully they intend to utilise Australia's skills and the obvious attraction of the significant resources that are in Australia. ADNOC's investment also highlights the need to utilise capital to develop new volumes of gas into the market. That is the root problem for Australia. Talking about diverting from export to the domestic market does not solve the root problem. The root problem is to replace the volumes that are diminishing from the Bass Strait and add new developed volumes into the market. Anything that adds to the capital and the ability to develop new sources of gas in Australia is very welcome. Do you think this will have an impact on juniors such as yourself? I think it's very positive for the industry as a whole that significant foreign interest is investing in Australia's resources for the long term. It highlights the fact that there's growing international demand for our resource base, in particular gas and LNG, also liquids. It highlights that there's a lot of value that can be accrued by Australia in the responsible development of our resource base. I think that's really encouraging. For a company like ADNOC to be investing, they have to be confident of significant scale as they have a large portfolio, value the attractiveness of the resource base and they must have confidence that we have regulatory settings and government policies that enable their responsible development. Do you think the Queensland state government's energy roadmap contributed to that bid from ADNOC? Yes, I think so, because they must be well aware that while offshore resources are governed by the federal government, onshore are regulated by the state government. They'll be looking carefully at the long-term policy settings that each of the state governments are putting forward. In recent times, we've seen a shift in some of our bigger resource states towards more encouraging policy settings for the development of any particular gas resource. What are Omega's plans going forward in the next 12 months or so? We will be looking to really understand the scale and distribution of our resources across our broad block, to determine the commercial pathways for the development of both gas and oil. Omega will also work with some key industry partners to be able to look at our long-term partnering and funding options. We are open to all sorts of arrangements including farm-ins as we have 100% equity and recently completed the purchase of the overriding royalty interest that was pertinent to our acreage. This gives us complete strategic flexibility at both an asset and comfort level.
The Guardian
30-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
‘It's just maths': uninsurable, disaster-hit pockets of Australia pose existential questions requiring radical answers
On Tuesday 20 May, as rain pounded Taree and flood waters rose, eight people wheeled a grand piano on its castors across one of the town's main streets and into an office block. The piano, worth $20,000, was saved and still sits, nearly two weeks later, in the office with employees working around it. But much of the rest of the stock from Bass 'N' Blues Music Megastore – including 180 guitars, 80 amplifiers and $100,000 worth of sheet music – was destroyed. 'We went through the floods four years ago and we've been putting it back together ever since,' Tanya Brown says. 'But we did a shop change a few weeks ago and it's the best it's ever looked. 'We got new guitar lines in just days before the flood. A $6,000 amplifier I've been waiting on for nine months for a customer, that arrived a couple of days before – it's gone.' Brown, 51, who has lived in Taree all her life, says the hardest moment was walking back into the store the first time after the flood waters that hit the mid-north coast of New South Wales had receded. 'There were tears for about 20 minutes and we thought, we'll let ourselves have that moment, then we put our boots on and got to work.' Brown, her husband, Trevor, with whom she runs the store, friends and a crew of volunteers who were just waiting outside the shop ready to help clean it up have successfully got the place emptied and ready for reconstruction: gyprock walls need pulling out, carpets need replacing, the place needs to dry. 'Once we've done that we can get some stock back in and start getting it back together,' she says. Reopening is her primary focus, for her staff and for the town. 'Our community needs us, we're a driver of musical education and live music playing – we need to get back up and going.' On the one hand, Brown is testament to the resilience of survivors of disasters that politicians rightly praise as they tour waterlogged or fire-ravaged towns. But she has questions too, questions that move beyond immediate recovery for her store and Taree, and shift the focus from individual – or even community – responsibility for recovery. Questions about how we handle crises like these going forward, the perils of insurance in increasingly uninsurable communities, how governments support people in the wake of disasters, and whether bigger conversations around disaster adaptation and mitigation need to happen. 'We've really been dealing with these massive events these last few years,' Brown says. 'It seems to take governments a long time to be able to initiate those conversations and change. 'Whatever's changing our climate – they can argue about what it is until the cows come home – but the fact is it's changing and we're going to have to do things differently.' The most immediate question for many people following the frantic drumbeat of disasters across Australia is what to do about insurance. Floods in 2021 that hit the east coast of Australia, including the mid-coast and Hunter region that has been devastated by last week's flood event, rendered nearly 1,200 houses uninhabitable – including one in Taree that was found drifting in the Manning River – and led to more than 53,144 insurance claims totalling $629.6m. In the wake of that disaster, many home and business owners found their properties suddenly uninsurable for flood damage. Others were faced with insurance premiums costing tens of thousands more each year. Brown was one of the lucky ones – if anyone whose business has just been destroyed and community pulverised by a natural disaster can be described as lucky – in that she had flood insurance. But she does not anticipate that getting a payout will be straightforward. Her insurance payout from 2021 – about $350,000 – only just came through four months ago. She describes getting it as 'the fight of our lives'. This time around, three times the volume of water came into her store, the damage was far worse, and the claim could be as much as double last time. She anticipates another battle. Rupesh Phirangi, owner of Manning Valley Dental, which sits right on the riverfront, with sweeping views from its veranda and bay windows of the beautiful Manning River, had flood insurance – though didn't need it – until the floods of 2021. After that flood event, he suddenly found no company would offer flood insurance to him. 'The problem is we have been given a red flag for flood insurance,' he says. 'The maximum we could take is storm damage.' In Phirangi's 20 years in the area, the flood waters only ever filled his surgery's garage on the lower level, never getting beyond the doorstep of the clinic on the first floor. But this time – his first flood uninsured – the flood waters breached the clinic, reaching waist-height. He estimates 80% of his equipment – much of it electrical, expensive and specialised – has been destroyed, leaving him with a bill of $250,000-$300,000. 'It has done a massive devastation,' he says. 'Unimaginable.' Without insurance, it isn't clear how Phirangi will be able to rebuild and get his business running again. Various state and federal government grants exist to help people who are uninsured and the NSW premier, Chris Minns, said on a visit to the area on Thursday that he'd had 'extensive talks' with the prime minister about a package of support for businesses and primary producers. As of Friday, the details of the package had not been announced, with Minns saying they would be made public 'imminently'. 'We want to make sure that the assistance … works, pulls those businesses back out of a very difficult situation and ensures that they continue to operate,' the premier said on Thursday. Phirangi says: 'We have been told there will be some sort of funding available. But this is a big loss, I'm not sure to what extent they will help us.' Ian Wright, associate professor in environmental science at Western Sydney University, specialising in water management and policy, says the situation facing so many communities in flood-prone or bushfire-prone areas, who now either could not get insurance or could not afford skyrocketing premiums, shows 'the insurance system has broken down'. 'I think there's a question about the social licence to operate of insurers at the moment. And I think that's really, really, really deep, and I think it's going to hit other disaster-hit communities as well: coastal flooding, bushfire, floods.' Wright says a new model has to be considered to replace how insurance is currently working, suggesting that the Australian government could implement an underwriting agreement with insurers for flood disasters, in the same way it does for cyclone-hit communities. 'I don't know why we wouldn't adopt that. But it seems half-hearted, very petty, and we really haven't got our heads around collectively how we support these communities and step in to provide very significant help to those who are uninsured.' Greg Mullins, the former NSW Fire and Rescue Commissioner, and founder of Emergency Leaders for Climate Action (Elca), says insurance companies pulling out of providing coverage for disaster-prone areas cop a lot of criticism but are often just following the business case. 'People don't realise, but insurers have to price to the risk, and … they're sometimes better at risk assessment than governments are. 'People like to blame them. But why would you give away money if you're in a business? 'I'm not an apologist for the insurance industry, but it's just maths.' The problem is that there is just not enough money in the government coffers to make up the shortfall, he says. 'There's too many people needing that government help, now that there's so many uninsured. Everything we're talking about is billions and billions of dollars.' Mullins' solution would be to institute a tax on super profits of fossil fuel companies. 'Let's tax them properly and set up a national climate adaptation and resilience fund.' Can he imagine there ever being political will for such a policy? 'I hope so. I hope [Labor] have got the guts with this massive mandate for change, and the proof will be in the pudding when people can actually be moved – you know, have their homes moved out of harm's way, have a new home built, do it with dignity. They'll think, 'Wow, what a great idea.'' The question of moving is a fraught one and not one that Jenny Wilkinson, 77, had considered until last week's flood. She lives with her partner George on a two-hectare property on the edge of Taree that her parents bought in 1978. It's a property she loves dearly, describing the huge fig trees that line the drive, that were planted by her father four decades ago, and likely protected the home from some damage when the flood waters rose, the giant branches catching wood and debris that could have smashed their house. George, who is in his late 80s, has serious health problems that prevented the couple from leaving their property in a timely way and so they had to be rescued, clambering over an upstairs veranda and into a police boat and ferried to safety. When she returned to the property, she found the body of one of her three pet horses, a Shetland pony, by the house. They lost all of their horses, most of their 20 cattle and all but one chicken. Inside the house, the ground floor was filled with mud and furniture had been ruined, but the biggest blow was the photographs. 'Mum and dad's photos that were up on the walls, the real old ones with the curved glass, they're all gone. So the memories you've got in your head, but you can't look at them and say, 'Hi Mum, hi Dad'.' Wilkinson doesn't have insurance for the property. After the 2021 floods, which saw about a metre of water enter her home and much of the contents be destroyed, only one company would offer her flood insurance, but the premium they were asking exceeded the amount she got for her pension each year and so she couldn't take it up. She has had a lot of community and family help clearing the property, and is staying with her sister in town until the home is habitable again, but isn't sure whether this home – that has been in her family for nearly 50 years – is one she could stay in for the long term. After the devastating northern rivers floods of 2022, the NSW government instituted a buyback scheme in which the government buy properties in areas at risk of flooding from property owners, with the option to move that home to a new location in some cases. Wright says we may have reached a tipping point where we need to start having conversations about moving people – and even whole communities – off flood plains and out of the line of future disasters. These are big and challenging conversations, he acknowledges. 'We are so far from knowing how to respond in a collective sense. I think we're suffering policy failure in this area. And again, looking at somewhere like Lismore and … our inability handle that on what in Australia really should be a manageable scale, to help a vulnerable community like that. I don't think it bodes well for the recovery of the people of the Manning.' Asked whether she would consider accepting a buyback if the government were to institute such a program in Taree, Wilkinson is initially emphatic. 'I'd never move. Even if they paid me to move, I wouldn't move.' But then she stops for a moment. 'Maybe I might reconsider that, not moving. After all, it depends how much they offer, I guess, so you can set up somewhere else. Yeah, I guess I might reconsider it. I have to give that a bit of thought. I love it out here, but sometimes, as we're getting so old, maybe it's a good thing that we do move. 'You worry about the next one, don't you?'
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Braveheart Investment Group Insiders Lose Out As Stock Sinks To UK£0.022
The recent 40% drop in Braveheart Investment Group plc's (LON:BRH) stock could come as a blow to insiders who purchased UK£104.6k worth of stock at an average buy price of UK£0.037 over the past 12 months. Insiders purchase with the hope of seeing their investments increase in value over time. However, due to recent losses, their initial investment is now only worth UK£64.0k, which is not great. While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. Our free stock report includes 5 warning signs investors should be aware of before investing in Braveheart Investment Group. Read for free now. In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when CEO & Non-Executive Director Trevor Brown bought UK£91k worth of shares at a price of UK£0.035 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than UK£0.022 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when an insider has purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Trevor Brown. Trevor Brown bought a total of 2.85m shares over the year at an average price of UK£0.037. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction! View our latest analysis for Braveheart Investment Group Braveheart Investment Group is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find small cap companies at attractive valuations, this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. It appears that Braveheart Investment Group insiders own 28% of the company, worth about UK£405k. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders. The fact that there have been no Braveheart Investment Group insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Braveheart Investment Group insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Braveheart Investment Group. When we did our research, we found 5 warning signs for Braveheart Investment Group (4 don't sit too well with us!) that we believe deserve your full attention. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies. For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
Lawsuit filed against propane company involved in deadly 2024 Sterling home explosion
The Brief A lawsuit has been filed against Southern States, the propane company involved in a deadly 2024 home explosion in Sterling, Va. The suit alleges negligence and gross negligence, arguing that the company knew about the dangerous condition of the propane tank that caused the explosion. The home explosion killed firefighter Trevor Brown, injured 13 others and leveled the home. STERLING, Va. - A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed following the devastating propane explosion that killed a firefighter and injured a dozen others when a home was blasted apart in Sterling last February. The family of the late firefighter, Trevor Brown, and others who were injured in the explosion are suing Southern States energy company and two of its employees. The suit alleges negligence and gross negligence, arguing that the company knew about the dangerous condition of the propane tank that caused the explosion and failed to act. The backstory Three years ago, Southern States refilled the tank at the home at 347 Silver Ridge Drive without addressing critical noted safety issues. The lawsuit says this decision put everyone in harm's way. In February 2024, the homeowner called up Southern States, saying they smelled gas. The company reportedly told the homeowner not to call the fire department because it was not an emergency. "What's even more egregious is my client, who is a volunteer firefighter, is on a speakerphone with the manager from Southern States and telling him this is an emergency and there's an argument back saying it's not. That's not just egregious. It's simply crazy," said Demetry Pikrallidas, Attorney at Pikrallidas & Probasco. Regardless, around 7:30 p.m. officials received a 911 call about the smell of gas outside the house. Loudoun County firefighters responded to the reported gas leak at the residence. Investigators later determined an underground propane tank was leaking, prompting firefighters to request a hazardous materials team and evacuate the home's occupants. Less than an hour after the 911 call was placed, around 8:25 p.m., units reported a "catastrophic explosion" with multiple firefighters inside the home. The structure was fully leveled, trapping several firefighters and sending debris flying. Dig deeper The lawsuit alleges Southern States did not follow proper safety procedures, including failing to train employees adequately, allowing the propane to leak unchecked into the surrounding area. They are seeking millions of dollars in damages for wrongful death, physical injuries, and emotional suffering. "It's just a shocking, shocking case," Pikrallidas said. "When you don't alert people, it's almost like ignoring what you know is wrong. And when you tag a tank and you take it out of commission, you should have proper documentation and when your callback to service that tank, there ought to be one million red flags." What's next There is also a criminal investigation separate from what was filed on Friday. The location of the home is being turned into a memorial for the firefighter that lost his life. They plan to put a rock and plaque here and build a nature park. FOX 5 is told the land was just cleared just a few days ago and the landscaping will start soon. Report details Virginia house explosion that killed firefighter Sterling house explosion caused by leaking 500-gallon propane tank; damage costs $2.5M Firefighter killed in fiery Virginia home explosion remembered as devoted father, volunteer Sterling house explosion: 500-gallon propane tank found leaking ahead of fatal explosion
