Nanny, quick-thinking driver of exploding truck helped avert disaster

Scott Sonner

Wednesday, Oct. 7, 1998 | 8:52 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - A nanny and the driver of a leaking propane truck that exploded within a block of an elementary school are being hailed as heroes for taking quick action to avert what could have been a deadly disaster.

The explosion destroyed a house and forced the evacuation of 600 students and dozens of southwest Reno neighborhood residents up to a mile away Tuesday, but no one was injured.

"It could have been a lot worse," said Mark Lewis, the owner of the house leveled by the blast.

Authorities blamed the leak on a mechanical problem with the truck's 2,400-gallon tank. They were investigating reports the truck's emergency shutoff system failed.

"I think the driver did a real good job of trying to isolate the problem and then when he realized he couldn't do that, he alerted people," Assistant Reno Fire Chief Roy Slate said.

Jason Clarke, 25, driver of the Pro-Flame truck, told the Reno Gazette-Journal he was pulling the hose out to fill the Lewis' residential tank when he "heard something in back blow off.

"I went around to the back of the house to find the family to get them out and I saw propane going under the garage door. That's when I knew there would be trouble," he said.

Cameron Lewis, 11, and his 2-year-old brother Brint were at home at the time with their nanny, Anita Streyer. Streyer said they ran to the back of the house "and suddenly the house was on fire.

"I knew we had to get out of the house," she said.

Streyer and the two children escaped with the family dog and hopped the fence next door to the house of the children's great-grandmother.

"She's a hero," said Kyle Lewis, the children's mother. "I am so thankful she had the presence of mind to get herself and my kids out of the house before it was too late."

Firefighters arrived on the scene shortly after the 11 a.m. blast. But they retreated shortly before noon for fear of additional explosions and law enforcement officers ordered the evacuation as a precaution.

"Recognizing the danger of a secondary explosion, they pulled back and concentrated on the evacuation," Slate said.

A 300-gallon residential propane tank "was exposed to the fire and in danger," said Washoe County Sheriff's Sgt. Robert Towery.

"If that tank exploded, it could create a substantial risk to the people and property easily within a one-half mile radius," he said.

Slate added, "I'd say the threat was very real."

Nine yellow school buses rushed in shortly after the blast to transfer students at Roy Gomm Elementary School to Billinghurst Middle School in northwest Reno. They were bused back to their school later Tuesday afternoon in time for the normal release time.

"They're all fine," Towery said.

Residents in the area of spread-out, ranch-style homes reported that the ground shook during the explosions.

At one point, 75 firefighters and more than 40 law enforcement officers were working the scene.

Traffic was rerouted for hours around the area of South McCarran street near Plumb and Mayberry. A law enforcement helicopter hovered over the area to help guide firefighters and guard against looters.

Black smoke could be seen from miles away after the blaze broke out. But by 1 p.m. firefighters said it was largely under control and residents started returning to the neighborhood.

Clarke told law officers the 2,400-gallon truck tank had about 1,000 gallons of propane in it at the time of the mishap.

"The house is destroyed pretty much. The truck is destroyed," Slate said.

"The truck's tank is what burned and exploded. The ignition source, we're not sure of. There was some sort of mechanical injury to the plumbing on the delivery system of the truck tank," he said.

While Clarke was credited with quick thinking, state transportation officials say his commercial driver's license apparently was not valid.

Pro-Flame, with offices in Reno and Carson City, had a valid permit for hauling hazardous materials. And Clarke had a commercial license that was supposed to be good through the year 2001.

But Kim Evans, spokeswoman for the Department of Motor Vehicles, told the Gazette-Journal that Clarke failed to get an updated medical examination to keep his license current.

His last medical exam expired in April, which would would make the license invalid, she said.