Officials waiting to talk to men hurt in blast

Monday, Jan. 26, 2004 | 10:35 a.m.

An agent in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said Monday that talking to the two men injured in an explosion Friday in northeast Las Vegas will be the key in determining how the blast occurred.

One of the men, Chad Levi Schraft, was in critical condition this morning. The condition of the other man, known only as Dave, was not available.

"We haven't been able to interview the people involved yet because they are still in the hospital and one of them has lost both legs," Keith Heinzerling, resident agent in charge of the Las Vegas ATFE office, said.

"We just know they were working on a vehicle and they may have been smoking," he said.

Heinzerling said he hoped to speak to the victims within the next day or two.

The blast occurred Friday morning in the driveway of a home in the 6200 block of Shenandoah Avenue.

Fire investigators found remnants of a five-gallon propane tank and a second tank with a hole blown in the bottom.

It's not clear whether the tanks contained propane or another type of gas.

Neighbors said the force of the explosion knocked pictures off their walls.