Volunteers Cleaning Homeless Encampment in Seattle Discover Nearly 80 Potentially Explosive Propane Tanks

 

Seattle homeless camp. Photo by Neal McNamara for patch.com.

Volunteers cleaning up a homeless encampment in Seattle recently were shocked to find a massive danger lurking beneath the debris.

They encountered almost 80 propane tanks which still held flammable material, making them potentially explosive. Seattle has had an ongoing problem of fires at homeless camps, so this was a genuine cause for concern.

The volunteers were also shocked to discover guns, knives and various other weapons.

FOX News reports:

Seattle volunteer groups make dangerous discovery during homeless encampment cleanup: ‘Ticking timebomb’

A shocking discovery rattled volunteer groups cleaning up a Seattle homeless encampment over the Labor Day weekend as they unearthed nearly 80 propane tanks, 20 of which still reportedly contained flammable material.

“We have many camps going up in flames, we see them every day. We see explosions inside our greenspaces, it’s from the propane tanks. It’s a ticking timebomb,” Tim Emerson, program director of nonprofit group We Heart Seattle, told KOMO 4 News, a local outlet.

We Heart Seattle was among the three groups assisting with the cleanup that cleared approximately 5.6 tons of debris, excluding the weight of the tanks, Emerson said.

“Anytime somebody [is] doing anything that causes a little bit of spark and fire around the fuel, it’s over. The whole neighborhood is going to experience the explosions,” he added, per the report.

The discovery raises concerns about flammable materials at encampment sites, a concern that consistently surfaces in local reports.

It’s just astounding that this was allowed to go on for as long as it did. Talk about dangerous.

80+ propane tanks removed during Magnolia Park encampment cleanup https://t.co/uVsBiY5DqH

— FOX 13 Seattle (@fox13seattle) September 1, 2024

Here’s a video of a Seattle homeless fire from last summer that involved propane explosions.

BREAKING: Propane tanks are exploding in this homeless encampment on I-5 in downtown Seattle. @wsdot @SeattleWolf @KIRO7Seattle @fox13seattle@komonews pic.twitter.com/QJ509zK8J2

— Matt McAllister (@MorningWolfMatt) July 21, 2023

Allowing people to live this way is not compassionate. It’s a massive and potentially fatal hazard.