Explosions seen as large fire burns at Phoenix propane business

PHOENIX - Exploding propane tanks led to a massive fire in Phoenix that caused significant damage in an area near Sky Harbor Airport on Thursday.

The fire happened near 40th Street and Van Buren. According to Phoenix Fire officials, crews were called to the scene at around 5:00 p.m., and when they arrived at the scene, they found a large propane yard with five gallon propane tanks exploding over 500 yards in all directions.

More than 150 firefighters were called to put out the flames.

Fire officials said that flames were shooting out of the business, and the tanks were like missiles flying in the air. First responders warned people to stay out of the area due to the hundreds of tanks and flying shrapnel.

"Firefighters isolated the hazard area, evacuated multiple homes and businesses and attacked the flames with elevated master streams. The fire was then surrounded and the bursting tanks cooled stopping the explosions," read a portion of a statement released by fire officials.

The fire burned near Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, but airport officials say their operations are not affected by the fire. Meanwhile, all staff and animals were evacuated and safe from the Arizona Animal Welfare League, whose office is in the area.

Smoke and flames could be seen for miles.

Sky Harbor says the smoke did not impact airport operations. The fire did affect light rail service, but it has since resumed as normal.

No injuries have been reported.

Dozens of cars destroyed

Half of the cars parked at a nearby airport parking lot were burned to a crisp in the fire. Dean Dimitri's car was among those that burned.

"Got back from 10 days in Puerto Vallarta last night," said Dimitri. "As soon as we arrived, we heard Sundance was burning."

Dimitri and his wife spent much of the morning of July 21 collecting what they could from their car.

"The backend is charred. Tires are un-drivable," said Dimitri. "The engine looks fine."

Two or three buildings were also destroyed by the fire. Nancy Wolfe, who owned the Sundance parking lot for 40 years before selling it, says she was always wary of the propane company next door.

"The propane gas next door which was always my fear," Wolfe said. "I didn't like it being so close to us, but we lived with it for the last 40 years, so I was not, I was shocked of course that it happened. But it's still unbelievable to me because it was my life for the last 40 years."

"It's sad to see this happen, but I'm so happy that nobody was hurt. So happy nobody was hurt, including me," said Bonnie Root, an employee for the airport parking lot that was affected by the fire.

Fire also affected other places nearby

Besides the airport parking lot, the fire traveled into one yard, where a palm tree caught fire.

"The wood is still smoking," said Maikale Anau. "It's kind of scary because it looks like we have a campfire going."

Embers from the fire also fell on some of Anau's valuables.

"Right now, talking about it [is] really emotional," said Anau. "Just thinking 20-30 years of what may look like trash to some people is what has built us in America."

Everything in Anau's yard has a meaning to her family. Her family is from Tonga, a country located in the Pacific Ocean.

"My tears are probably coming out because this is my parent's work, not mine," said Anau.

Anau's father was the first one to see what the fire did to a classic car he has held on to for decades.

"He's not a talker, so we could feel it, but he did just say these are materials. At least everyone is OK."

Other things that burned at Anau's home include vehicles they want to restore, tractor and Bobcat equipment used for work, and other industrial equipment. Firefighters managed to put out the fire, however, before it spread to the entire yard.

"Memories gone, just watching memories. It's a lot of grief. A lot of this stuff helped build my parents and who they are today, so the memories is more of a loss than anything else," said Anau, who went on to say her next step is to find the owner of the propane business, and file a claim with her insurance.

Incident Scene