Use of propane has raised concerns in LV

Friday, June 29, 2001 | 11:19 a.m.

Propane fuel has long been a concern in populated areas of Clark County, including the Strip and downtown Las Vegas.

The propane tank explosion Thursday at Caesars Palace conjured memories of the late 1980s, when late Sun Publisher Hank Greenspun went on one of his final crusades. It was against a 30,000-gallon cab-refueling propane tank in downtown Las Vegas that he warned could kill and injure thousands if it exploded.

A series of Sun stories and columns on the tank operated by Yellow-Checker Cab Company resulted in the city of Las Vegas ordering its removal and the owner of the cab company, Milton Schwartz, suing the Sun for defamation.

On Oct. 16, 1991, following a month-long trial, a Clark County District Court jury deliberated for less than four hours before ruling the Sun had not libeled Schwartz.

On July 1, 1999, the potential horror of ignited propane hit home when propane tanks behind the Treasure Island exploded and one firefighter was transported to a hospital with a heat-related injury from fighting the blaze.

That incident involved 10 small tanks, each containing between five and seven gallons of the explosive gas, stored near a warehouse at Spring Mountain Road. The tanks were located near two large underground tanks that supplied propane for the Strip resort's pirate sea battle show.