With forty thousand gallons of LPG exposed to naked flames - you'd be right to expect that - but it didn't happen. And, as we told you in Friday's news - a safety feature built into the storage tanks averted what seemed to be a certain disaster. It's called a pressure release valve which released overheated LPG into the air every 20 seconds - so that it did not stay in the tank where it could have possibly cause an explosion there.

A release today from Western Gas notes also that an internal valve under the bulk storage tank shutoff the LPG flow as another safety measure.

The release says the fire was caused by quote, "an overheated electrical contactor in the transfer pump room" end quote, which ignited fumes from the butane when it was being transferred. That was also the finding of the Fire Department. The Western Gas release congratulates the Fire Service and says that the company is compliant with all industry safety requirements and standards.