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Roger Bentley was indicted Monday on charges of involuntary
manslaughter and unlawful release of hazardous materials,
Loudoun County Fire and Rescue said in a statement.
Bentley also was charged with failure to maintain required
records of an unauthorized discharge of hazardous materials, and
unlawful failure to control or mitigate the unauthorized
discharge of hazardous materials.
Online court records did not show if Bentley had a lawyer to
speak on his behalf about the charges Tuesday.
The house explosion in Sterling led to the death of volunteer
firefighter Trevor Brown, significant injuries to 11 first
responders and $2.5 million in damages, Loudoun County officials
said. Brown was married with three children and had been with
the county firefighting services since 2016, officials said.
Firefighters arrived at the home in the Washington, D.C., suburb
to investigate a report about a gas smell, officials said. They
discovered a 500-gallon underground propane tank with a leak on
the side of the residence, officials said.
Shortly after they arrived, the house exploded and burst into
flames, with multiple mayday calls coming from the firefighters
trapped inside. Crews rushed in to try to rescue them from the
debris that covered them.
Two people inside the house were escorted out before the
explosion and suffered minor injuries from the blast.
Investigators determined that the explosion was caused by the
leak, the fire department's statement said. Uncontained propane
migrated into and around the structure and was ignited by
something that hasn't been identified, the statement said.
Bentley is a former employee of Southern States Cooperative,
Inc.-Leesburg-Fairfax Petroleum Service. In a statement provided
to WTOP-TV, the company said it is fully cooperating with
investigations into the explosion.
“Based on our own internal inquiry into the incident and an
extensive review of our safety protocols and training,
particularly as they relate to the handling of propane
consistent with the industry’s Energy Compliance Manual, we have
made what we believe to be appropriate personnel changes in the
region and are moving forward with a renewed commitment toward
ensuring that our procedures and training are rigorous and
sound,” the company's statement said.
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