Explosion, Fire Jolts South Florida Port

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. --

A major catastrophe was averted at Port Everglades after an explosion sparked a fire at a propane storage facility Wednesday evening.

Just after 6 p.m., security guard Marie Joseph was jolted by an explosion. Across the lot from her office, a ball of fire filled an unoccupied office building.

"I thought I was being bombed," Joseph told Local 10's Neki Mohan.

Joseph called 911 and on-site suppression fire crews launched an offensive on the fully-engulfed office building. But firefighters had a hard time putting out the blaze.

"We had a problem with burning embers. The wind helped fan and fuel the fire. It was carrying the burning building materials over by the tank farm, which could have fueled a secondary fire," said Battalion Chief Ed Federkeil.

Crews, however, were able to keep that from happening.

Federkeil said if the tanks -- which contain about 800,000 gallons of fuel -- had ignited, the blast field would have enveloped everything within a one-mile radius.

Witness Joe Di Palma saw the fire from U.S 1. and knew it was no ordinary blaze.

"I drove by and I knew smoke was not supposed to be coming from there," he said.

It took about a half hour for firefighters to extinguish the blaze.

The investigation into what sparked it continues.

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