Equipment failure and human error likely caused propane tank cylinders to explode at a central Florida refilling plant late Monday , a fire official said Tuesday . The blasts at the Blue Rhino plant in Tavares injured eight plant workers , said John Herrell of the Lake County Sheriff 's Office . The situation is now contained and an evacuation order issued overnight has been lifted , the Florida Division of Emergency Management said in a news release . Residents nearby saw a pulsating glow in the sky . One Tavares resident , Norma Haygood , told CNN affiliate WESH it felt like `` bombs going off . '' The fire was out by 2 a.m. , three hours after the explosions began , and authorities are investigating the cause , according to Tavares Fire Chief Richard Keith . Keith , who lives a few miles away from the fire , said he `` knew it was bad right off the bat . '' `` It truly sounded like a car hit our house , '' he said . There had been earlier reports of 15 missing workers , but all 15 were found safe , Keith said . Some had fled the scene ; some drove themselves to hospitals . No residents were hurt , authorities said . Texas fertilizer plant fell through 'patchwork ' of safety rules . There were 53,000 20-pound cylinders of propane at the facility -- more than a million pounds in all , Herrell said . Firefighters immediately set up a half-mile evacuation area around the plant . The nearest homes -- about 50 of them -- are about three-quarters of a mile away , Herrell said . And they began pouring water onto the facility . Trucks parked at the plant went up in fireballs as the cylinders they were carrying exploded . The nighttime sky flickered in hues of orange . `` You could see the explosions from across the lake , '' said Ashley McCormick , a resident in nearby Mount Dora . `` They were very intense . '' 1 killed , 8 injured in blast at Louisiana chemical plant . There were 24 employees at work at the time of the blasts , according to Scott Brockelmeyer , a spokesman for Ferrellgas , the parent company of Blue Rhino . He said the company is cooperating with investigators . The incident was `` as sobering as you can possibly imagine , '' he told CNN . `` We 're sending good vibes their way from all over the country . '' The employees perform such tasks as refurbishing cylinders and loading them on pallets and vehicles . There were some management personnel on site as well , the spokesman said . Brockelmeyer confirmed that several employees were injured and had been taken to hospitals . The plant produces 2.3 million tanks annually , and serves all of Florida , southern Georgia and southern Alabama , he said . It opened in 2004 . Brockelmeyer would not speculate on the cause of the explosion and declined to comment on the fire chief 's statement that equipment failure and human error likely caused the incident . `` The fact that there are no fatalities is a blessing , '' said John Drury , the city administrator of Tavares , a community of some 14,000 people about 30 miles northwest of Orlando . `` This was a big deal , and a lot of people responded quickly . '' Now , the focus shifts to what caused the blasts . The Blue Rhino facility refills propane tanks used in gas grills . The company 's tank exchange service allows customers to trade in an empty tank for a full one at retail locations . The Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Blue Rhino in 2011 over a `` serious '' safety violation involving tools and equipment . It is not clear whether safety violations had anything to do with the fire . According to Brockelmeyer , the 2011 OSHA violation was due to an air nozzle at the facility that had a missing component . He did not give CNN any further information about the component or what it does . Two dead in fireworks plant explosion near Montreal .
The situation is contained and an overnight evacuation order is lifted , the state says . The company says several of the 350 workers present at the time were injured . There were 53,000 empty cylinders of propane at the facility . The Blue Ridge facility refills propane tanks used in the grills .