Another propane tank explosion at Twin Cities encampment highlights ongoing risks
MINNEAPOLIS — It's a call that first responders with Minneapolis Fire Department are no stranger to – but not one they say gets easier with time.
Underneath under the Hiawatha Bridge at Cedar Avenue, a small encampment burned early Friday morning.
When crews arrived, propane tanks started to burst.
"It's extremely dangerous," Assistant Fire Chief Melanie Rucker said Friday. "When that tank explodes, the shrapnel from the metal in the tank, or the debris around is going to explode or fly out around us."
That's also what happened in the early morning of Dec. 11.
Tank after tank at a south Minneapolis encampment began to explode. The siding at a neighboring home melted from the heat. Another home was destroyed – and a family forced to evacuate.
As temperatures continue to dip, advocates say they're looking for other options – but aren't finding many.
"It's not ideal — I'd rather see people in housing," said Christin Crabtree, an organizer at Camp Nenokassi. "But in the absence [of housing], people are going to do what they need to do to stay alive."
Crabtree says volunteers don't typically supply propane to encampments — they're aware of the risk. Rather, she says they focus on bringing warm clothes and firewood.
"It's entirely preventable if people had safe, warm places to be," she said.
The state's Fire Marshal says propane tanks and encampments are a particularly deadly combination.
"Being in that close proximity leads to a lot of radiant heat and issues where you can start that chain reaction," said Minnesota Fire Marshal Dan Krier. "When you add in combustible gas as a heat source...You've got a really dangerous recipe for explosions."
So far, no one has been hurt at the encampment fires where propane tanks have burst.
"We just want people to be safe," Rucker said. "With the cold weather, that makes it extremely difficult, you know, for Minnesota being unhoused to stay warm."
