Gun play starts New Year’s fire

Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2001 | 10:11 a.m.

Sheriff's investigators said a 35-year-old man was using an oxygen canister under a television set for a target when it exploded, sparking the fire.

Residents as far away as the Reno-Stead Airport heard the blast.

Fire and television parts shot about 60 yards in all directions from the blast, barely missing the target shooter.

When the unidentified man and two of his friends couldn't put the fire out, they started to drive into town for help. A Reno police officer stopped them as they were coming out of the hill.

Reno firefighters extinguished the quarter-acre brush fire.

Because the man was shooting in a non-congested area, he does not face any criminal charges in the explosion. His two friends were cited for having a loaded rifle in a vehicle.

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