Allegedly, Tech told homeowners to leak propane before the Sterling explosion

STERLING, Va. (7News) — The search warrant for the former employee of the company that supplied propane to the Sterling, Virginia, home that exploded in February, killing a firefighter, revealed that he told the homeowner to get the propane just hours before the fatal explosion let it continue to emerge.

7News obtained the court documents detailing fire investigators' sworn statements and grand jury indictments against Roger Bentley, who was charged with:

1. Negligent homicide
2. Unlawful Transfer of Hazardous Materials
3. Unlawful release of hazardous materials
4. Failure to maintain required records of hazardous material releases
5. Failure to control or contain the unauthorized release of hazardous materials

The search warrant was for Bentley's cell phone.

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According to those court documents, firefighters smelled propane in the air when they arrived hours before the explosion and learned that the 500-gallon propane tank underground was actively leaking.

At that point, documents say the homeowner and firefighters called Bentley, who was working as a service technician for Southern States Cooperative at the time. The Southern states provided the propane but did not own the tank.

During that conversation, the documents say Bentley said he had filled the tank earlier in the day and knew there was a leak.

Earlier in the day and before Bentley arrived, another Southern employee showed up unannounced and began filling the tank, but smelled propane and seemed “frantic.” He later called three different supervisors. That employee told the homeowner that the tank needed to be dug up or that the remaining propane in the tank needed to be pumped out, the search warrant states.

The documents continued that Bentley arrived less than two hours after this revelation but told the homeowner to drain the remaining propane from the tank and “let it seep out of the ground and be on your merry way.”

This conversation was allegedly recorded on a doorbell camera.

READ MORE |1 firefighter dead, others injured after crews respond to house explosion in Loudoun County

The house exploded 47 minutes after firefighters arrived on scene, killing 45-year-old firefighter Trevor Brown, injuring 13 other people and leveling the house due to the leaking propane tank. The explosion also damaged six other nearby buildings. Immediately after the incident, three additional homes were determined to be uninhabitable, and damage was initially estimated at $2.5 million, according to Loudoun County Fire and Rescue at the time.

According to court documents, Bentley texted the homeowner twice after the explosion and asked her to call him and have the firefighter call him.

Earlier this month, the search warrant states, the homeowner asked Southern States to repair the underground propane tank that supplied propane to the pool heater.

The court documents also state that Southern States identified a problem with the tank back in 2021 but did not fix it because the homeowner was not using the propane heater.

7News On Your Side reached out to Southerners and asked the following questions:

1. How is the company responding to court documents that say Roger Bentley told the homeowner to drain the propane tank?
2. When you discovered problems with the tank in 2021, why didn't the company make the necessary repairs?
3. Has the company updated its training due to the explosion?

A spokeswoman said she could not answer those questions because the investigation was ongoing, but referred to a statement released Tuesday after the initial announcement that charges had been filed against Bentley:

Southern States has cooperated fully with federal and local investigations into a residential explosion in Loudoun County that resulted in the destruction of a home, the death of a volunteer firefighter and injuries to others. Based on our own internal investigation into the incident and a comprehensive review of our safety protocols and training, particularly as it relates to the handling of propane in accordance with the industry's Energy Compliance Manual, we believe we have made appropriate personnel changes to the region and are leaving with a renewed commitment moving forward to ensure our procedures and training are rigorous and robust, reflecting our otherwise excellent safety record in serving our customers' energy needs for more than 84 years in Leesburg, Virginia. Given the pending litigation and ongoing investigation, we will not comment on the details of the incident or, as a matter of policy, personnel matters.