About 30 old propane storage tanks sitting out on a property fronting State Highway 274 in Seven Points, TX, were tampered with October 13 in an apparent attempt to empty them and remove their regulators for scrap, according to The Monitor Online news agency. The regulator weighs slightly less than a pound and would bring in about $1.20 as scrap. The stunt could have blown up this corner of the county Fire Chief A. J. Kirksey said.
Kirksey told The Monitor that a call reporting a strong smell of propane on State Highway 274 first alerted him to the danger. “When we arrived at the scene the smell was overwhelming. There was no time to evacuate.”