Investigators believe oxygen tanks inside a vehicle caused yesterday’s explosion and fire that killed a man in the parking lot of an apartment complex near 14th and Superior.
“The car showed evidence of a flash explosion,” says Chief Fire Inspector Bill Moody. The vehicle was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. The were able to pull the man out, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. His name has not been released.
Moody says there were five oxygen tanks in the vehicle and three of them exploded. They also found two one pound propane tank cylinders and an oxygen generator.
“We had a really rich atmosphere of oxygen in the car.” Moody says witnesses indicated the man was a heavy smoker and the fire has been declared accidental.
The explosion also broke out some windows of the apartment complex.