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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Motel Explosions Traced To Lighted Vapors Propane Leak Undetected After Original Fire Put Out

Associated Press

Investigators now believe mouse droppings, sawdust and a leaking propane tank led to two explosions in the basement of a local motel.

The blasts on July 13 and 15 at the Timberline Motel injured three people, two of whom were still being treated for burns Thursday.

Don Bailey, a state deputy fire marshal, said the problem started July 12 when heat from decomposing mouse droppings ignited sawdust and wood chips in a basement crawl space. Firefighters quickly put out the small fire, but not before it ignited an undetected vein of liquid propane vapor seeping up under the motel’s foundation.

The vapor was from a pinhole-sized leak in an underground propane tank about 64 feet from the motel. The 1,000-gallon tank was used for heat and hot water for the motel office and its 47 rooms.

The lighted vapors smoldered undetected under the motel floor, releasing carbon monoxide into the air until July 13, when motel guests complained there was no hot water. Apparently the carbon monoxide had put out the pilot light in the water heater, Bailey said.

V-1 Propane employee Tim Scheiss and Timberline Motel employee Georgia Schultz went down to relight the pilot, and disaster struck.

Scheiss, standing closest to the heater, received second- and third-degree burns to his face and hands, while Schultz received minor injuries.

Fire officials assumed the water heater was responsible and shut off the building’s propane.

Two days later, V-1 employee Ryan Kaufman went into the basement to get some numbers off what was thought to be a defective water heater. Kaufman, knowing the gas had been turned off, used his lighter to see the numbers. That produced another explosion, and Kaufman suffered second- and third-degree burns on his hands and face.

Officials later noticed the propane level in the underground tank had dropped from 41 percent to 25 percent. The tank was excavated Tuesday and the leak was confirmed.