Two men injured in explosion

Jen Lawson

Friday, Jan. 23, 2004 | 11:16 a.m.

Two men suffered severe injuries this morning when two tanks filled with an undetermined gas exploded while the men were working on a car in a northeast Las Vegas neighborhood, authorities said.

The explosion happened about 8:50 a.m. in the driveway at 6234 Shenandoah Ave., near Nellis Air Force Base, Clark County Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach said.

A man who lives at the house and a friend were working on a Chevrolet Corsica when the explosion shook the neighborhood, Leinbach said.

It's not clear how the explosion occurred or what caused it. A chemical test will be done to identify the gas, officials said.

"Whatever they were doing, it went bad," Leinbach said.

"This was a very devastating incident for the two people," Leinbach said. "There was a lot of blood loss."

Firefighters found a 5-gallon tank with a hole blown through the bottom and remnants of another tank in the driveway.

The explosion blew a few small holes in the side of the house and broke a front window.

The front of the car the men were working on was crumpled.

Leinbach said such explosions like this one are rare, adding that he couldn't remember the last time the Clark County Fire Department had responded to such an incident.

Most hazardous material explosions occur in transit and in manufacturing, not in use, he said.

A neighbor who lives across the street, who gave his name as Ted, said he and his family were eating when they heard a blast so forceful it knocked pictures off the walls. He said he thought a plane went down in the street.

"Then I thought the water heater might have blown up," he said.

He heard people screaming and looked outside to see people running toward his neighbor's house.

"It's a bad thing," he said as he shook his head.