# LA Apartment Explosion **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 29, 2002, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/la-apartment-explosion/111397 "2002-05-29T17:39:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/la-apartment-explosion/111397/1 "2002-05-29T17:39:30Z")
OK, first we get a vague threat warning, that terrorists may attempt to pack a US apartment building full of explosives and detonate it. A week or so later, a condo complex in Encino, CA blows up. Within 24 hours, the FBI has the cause: a gas leak. [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020524/ap\_on\_re\_us/building\_blast\_5](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020524/ap_on_re_us/building_blast_5) I’m not normally paranoid or prone to conspiracy theories, but does this strike anyone as a bit odd? That we have an extremely quick and extremely mollifying conclusion to a potentially panic-inducing and politically embarassing situation? ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/la-apartment-explosion/111397/2 "2002-05-29T17:49:15Z")
According to the Los Angeles Times: [http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-000037310may27.story](http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-000037310may27.story) the explosion was caused by someone lighting a cigarette: “An Encino man died Sunday of burn-related injuries suffered in a fiery explosion that tore through his apartment building after he apparently disconnected a gas line to fix a stove and then ignited the gas by lighting a cigarette.” So this is more a story about a Darwin Award winner than one about a conspiracy. Ed ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/la-apartment-explosion/111397/3 "2002-05-29T17:52:48Z")
No, it doesn’t There were also a whole host of other ‘warnings’ (scuba divers, bridges - whoa - there **was** a bridge taken out…) etc. When it first hit, my \*\*very first thought \*\* was ‘gas leak’. 'cause frankly that’s the most likely cause of an explosion like that. Sometimes it really is as simple as it seems. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/la-apartment-explosion/111397/4 "2002-05-29T20:17:50Z")
“Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.” – Hanlon’s Razor ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/la-apartment-explosion/111397/5 "2002-05-29T21:30:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by suranyi \* > \*\*According to the Los Angeles Times: > the explosion was caused by someone lighting a cigarette: > > … > So this is more a story about a Darwin Award winner than one about a conspiracy. > > \*\* But if it was a conspiracy, that’s exactly what they would _want_ you to think! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SuaSponte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SuaSponte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuaSponte)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2002, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/la-apartment-explosion/111397/6 "2002-05-29T21:48:15Z")
**jsc,** relax. First of all, arson investigators can very quickly determine the cause of a fire, at least in general terms. Burn and damage patterns are pretty distinctive across types of fires. So it is not unusual that they would be able to determine pretty quickly the cause of the fire. But, you say, they could still be lying to us. Which brings us to the second point - the explosion **didn’t cause enough damage** to be an act of terrorism. Think about it - according to the articles, about 10 apartments were gutted and a couple of dozen others suffered damage. None of the residents (besides the schmoe who started the fire) were seriously injured. And this in a 130-unit complex with 300-odd residents. Now think about how much exposives you could pack into an apartment. With the amount of space available, a terrorist could have leveled the whole block. Next, consider the timing of the explosion - 11 A.M. on a weekday morning, when most of the residents would be at work or at school. All in all, the terrorist theory doesn’t wash. That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t eventually ruled a suicide. An unmarried, childless man, with little family in the area, unable to work due to disability, who inexplicably unhooks his gas line, then lights a cigarette? I doubt he thought that the explosion would do much damage to neighboring apartments, but the elements of a suicide are there. Sua