Monday, August 3, 2015

Police seek culprit behind truck explosion, flying shrapnel from exploding cylinders in Newcastle, Washington









 Fire, explosions, flying cylinders terrify Newcastle neighborhood
 

By Lindsay Cohen 

Published: Jul 31, 2015

NEWCASTLE, Wash. -- 

Investigators on the Eastside have solved the "what" but they still want to know who was responsible for a large truck explosion this week -- and why. 


Two pressurized canisters exploded during a vehicle fire in the 11800 block of Southeast 84th Street Wednesday night, sending shrapnel flying. The debris took out one homeowner's fence, another resident's outdoor deck post, and set a number of small brush fires around the burning pickup. 


"I knew there were going to be explosions because I could hear the gas hissing out of the back," said Daniel Kim, a witness who took video of the fire. "When the first one went off, I was afraid of shrapnel -- getting hit by flying metal debris." 


Kim grabbed a garden hose to put out some of the grass fires that popped up.

"Never seen anything like this before," he said. "It was the craziest fire I've ever seen." 


Witnesses reported two people walking away from the scene once the fire started, said Lt. Richard Burke with the Bellevue Fire Department. The license plate and VIN number on the 2015 white GM pickup truck were also burned in the fire, making it difficult to track down who was inside the vehicle before the explosion. 


"We don't think they called 911," Burke said, of the truck's occupants. 


Fire investigators now believe the tanks were holding propane and acetylene, added Sergeant Stan Seo with the King County Sheriff's Office. They don't know what set of the explosions, however. 


"What we really want to do is talk to the people who took off on us," Seo said.

That sentiment is shared by resident Michael Grow, whose deck post is now split into two giant pieces. 


"One of the canisters came up here," he said, pointing, on Friday. "It broke the post, went through my fence, and on the side of the house, the grass caught fire." 


"I want to know what happened, who was here," added Grow. "Some of the neighbors have told me that while everybody was coming here to look at what was going on, there were two people walking away." 


The truck was taken to a secure location for further investigation, authorities said. 


"This whole area was covered with flames," added Grow. "I'm lucky nothing else happened." 


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Fire, explosions, flying cylinders terrify Newcastle neighborhood


Fire, explosions, flying cylinders terrify Newcastle neighborhood
An investigator examines the burned-out hulk of the pickup after the fire and explosions.

NEWCASTLE, Wash. - 
 
Police are investigating after a burning pickup truck loaded with gas canisters set off a series of explosions that turned a quiet Newcastle neighborhood into a war zone Wednesday evening.

The drama unfolded when the pickup pulled onto Southeast 84th Street with flames billowing from it, then stopped. The driver apparently jumped out and ran.

Second later, as residents called 911, compressed gas cylinders in the bed of the pickup began exploding and at least two of them shot through the air like flying missiles. The force of the blasts also blew off the truck's tailgate and sent it airborne.

One cylinder wiped out a deck at the side of a nearby home, and another ignited a brush fire in a neighbor's yard that quickly spread to a large cedar tree and two nearby vehicles parked along the street.

"It shot the fire and shot the cylinders all over," said the homeowner who lost his deck. "It started a big tree on fire ... my Mustang and utility trailer were burnt. ... It's pretty crazy."

Another neighbor said he had to take cover as gas canisters and debris shot through the air like shells in a war zone.

"I've never seen anything like this before," he said.

Firefighters quickly arrived at the scene and doused flames that had broken out on both sides of the street.

Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Police are still looking for the driver of the pickup as the investigation continues.