‘Tremendous boom’: CSFD responds to propane explosion off Westcliff Circle
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) said it responded to a propane explosion early Thursday morning.
The fire department said it was dispatched just after 3 a.m. in response to an explosion in a detached garage in the 2900 block of Westcliff Circle.
CSFD said that when crews arrived, there was no active fire. The fire department believes a minor propane leak occurred, and when a resident lit a cigarette, it caused an explosion. CSFD said two people were taken to the hospital with minor burn injuries.
Neighbors in the area tell KRDO13 they woke up to a loud thud and their homes shaking. Some said the shaking knocked their decor off the wall. Multiple homeowners say they shot out of bed to see what was going on. Many even told KRDO they were out on the street trying to ask law enforcement and first responders what was going on.
"It was like somebody just slammed on the doors in the house, and they all rattled. And so it was a heck of a boom, and it woke me up. Barb [Steve's wife] woke up for a minute, slept through it, but I jumped to the window then to see what was going on, and I could see somebody running around with the flashlight over there at the neighbor's garage," recounted Steve Diehl.
Steve Diehl said it was a tremendous boom. Some neighbors say it sounded like a tree broke or their windows had shattered. Diehl said he could later see that the garage door was all expanded out, in addition to the roof being expanded and swelled up.
Many wonder aloud whether an oxygen tank was involved in the explosion because a home in the neighborhood commonly receives oxygen tanks. KRDO13 clarified with CSFD, which said that, according to the fire officer on scene, this was related to an improperly cared-for propane tank in the garage. As far as the oxygen cylinders, they say there were some on scene, but they were up near the house (not the garage), and we’re uninvolved in this incident, according to firefighters.
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