A safety alert has been issued warning restaurants and households to only use approved gas cartridges and appliances, after an explosion last month at Little Miss Korea injured five people.

NT WorkSafe reported that the explosion and fire that occurred on September 8, appeared to have started after gas ignited at a table-based barbecue appliance that used both a butane gas cartridge and charcoal as the fuel source.

The initial report found the setup of the barbecue appliance “may not have been compatible with the butane gas cartridge” for a couple of reasons, including that the table barbecue “may have been imported into Australia” and did not have an approval notice for use in the NT, as required by law.

“The continuous radiant heat from the burning charcoal may have caused the butane gas in the cartridge to expand and overpressure, activating the cartridge’s Countersink Release Vent (CRV) safety device … which caused the ignition causing injuries,” the report stated.

It is also possible that the set-up of the barbeque appliance may not have been compatible with the butane gas cartridge, the report said, noting that warning label on the cartridge advised not to operate within 400mm of any other combustible appliance, the distance between the charcoal reservoir and the vented gas cartridge was 40mm, and warning on the cartridge also advised not to subject the cartridge to constant high temperatures which could cause the cartridge to rupture.

NT WorkSafe reminded gas appliance users that their devices should comply with AS2658 – LP Gas – portable and mobile appliances, or be approved by the Australian Gas Association, the Australian Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association, or NT WorkSafe, before operation in the Territory.

Users are also advised to carefully follow all manufacturer’s instructions before using any gas appliance, including the manufacturer’s directions for any fuel source such as gas cartridges.

Any kind of gas cartridges should also be safely removed from appliances if another fuel source, such as charcoal, is being utilised, WorkSafe said.