Propane Tank Blast Damages Food Carts, Buildings in Portland, OR
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Food carts and other businesses in Southeast Portland were badly damaged Tuesday morning in what investigators believe was an accidental propane tank explosion.
Firefighters quickly put out the resulting blaze along Southeast 82nd Avenue at about Harney Street. No one was injured, Portland Fire & Rescue said on social media.
Security footage on the property that hosts the food carts indicates the explosion happened at about 4:30 a.m., according to Aileen Kish, who said her family owns the parking lot.
The blast knocked out the windows of the nearby Crystal Guide, toppling display cases and overturning shelves at the shop, which sells crystals and jewelry. The front door was knocked loose from its frame.
“I had a breakdown,” The Crystal Guide’s owner, Michelle Rademacher, 55, said of her reaction when arriving at the shop after the blast. “This is my heart and soul, and my whole family put everything into it.”
She said the store carries items from more than 130 independent artists, and that many pieces appear to be damaged.
Lars Rademacher, 52, Michelle Rademacher’s husband, said it’s “hard to process” what has happened. “I mean, it’s taken 30 years to amass a collection like this. It’s not replaceable.”
The cause of the explosion is under investigation, the fire bureau said.
The lot with the food-cart pod is strewn with twisted metal and various scorched items. But Eduardo Animas, the owner of a Salvadoran food cart that was damaged in the blast, said he hopes to get back to business soon.
“I’m just happy that no one got hurt,” Animas said. “I can fix it. I take care of anything and talk to the insurance, replace doors, replace the window, cook more food.”
He added: “We will go on.”
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