Northern Lakes Region Bureau

The rear wheels of a tractor-trailer truck toppled this gas pump at the Cumberland Farms Store in Meredith on Thursday. Fire officials said the built in safety system worked shutting off the flow of gasoline once the pump was knocked over. (Citizen Photo/Bea Lewis)

MEREDITH — Coincidence and quick action by a neighboring business owner are credited with helping avert the potential for a gasoline pump explosion Thursday morning.

Paul Lanni of New Hampton, new owner of the Citgo station on Route 3, had only reopened the station Monday. He was sitting behind his desk doing paperwork at about 9 a.m. when he heard a loud bang. He said he looked up and realized a tractor-trailer rig had toppled a gas pump at the Cumberland Farm Store across the street.

When flames flared from the sheared-off gas pump, Lanni ran outside, grabbed a 10-pound dry chemical extinguisher and sprinted across Route 3. He emptied the extinguisher, snuffing out the flames.

Lanni said he had just purchased a series of new fire extinguishers to meet local fire safety codes and was still lamenting the cost when, as things would go, he needed to put one to use.

Recounting the coincidence of the two 10-pound extinguishers sitting on the gasoline island in front of his service station, Lanni said, "I was worried about the night guys remembering to bring (the extinguishers) in so they wouldn’t get stolen. They hadn’t been there 24 hours."

According to police, Russell S. Paradis, 45, of 82 Vermont St., Holyoke, Mass., was driving a 1998 International tractor-trailer when he apparently cut the corner too tight, causing the rear wheels of the trailer to crumple a protective bollard that, in turn, was pushed into the gas pump, tipping it over.

Meredith Fire Chief Chuck Palm explained the pump’s internal fire protection system worked. When the pump was pushed over, two levers were designed to snap, allowing two valves to spring shut stemming the flow of gasoline.

The fire was apparently a result of gasoline already in the pump fuel lines.

Lanni said flames were about waist high when he ran across the street.

"You don’t even really think about it," he said, downplaying his role in the incident.

Lanni said the truck driver was still attempting to get his rig untangled from the gas island and in the process tore an aluminum toolbox off the underside of the trailer. Firefighters quickly arrived on the scene but found that Lanni had already put out the blaze. Cumberland Farms offered to pay to have Lanni’s extinguisher recharged.

The incident prompted Cumberland Farms staff to close the store until the needed repairs could be made. A call to the company’s corporate headquarters seeking comment was not returned.

Chief Palm said if the shutoff mechanism within the pump had failed and the fire had spread, a deluge system contained within the canopy that covers the fueling area would have been activated by the intense heat and would have discharged.

Paradis was driving for C.J. Transportation of Rosemount, Illinois and had just emptied his trailer making a delivery to the McDonald’s restaurant in Meredith, prior to refueling.

Because the accident involved a commercial vehicle, the N.H. Department of Safety, Highway Enforcement Division sent a representative to inspect the trucker’s time log and determine whether the vehicle suffered from any mechanical defect. Police said following the inspection the 18-wheel rig was ordered parked until repairs could be made.