The Nation - News from July 23, 1987

Police investigating the propane explosion that killed four people and leveled three buildings in Brooklyn said that the blast was accidental but that they were trying to determine whether the 18th Avenue Plumbing Supply Co. had the proper permits to store the volatile gas. If it does not, a grand jury could bring charges of criminally negligent homicide against the plumbing supply company and its owners, police Capt. Michael Julian said. The explosion was caused when workers dropped a propane canister from a stairwell into the basement, rupturing the canister and igniting the propane.