Propane Explosion Kills Man in Backyard Bomb Shelter

A man in his 80s was killed Sunday after a propane tank exploded inside an underground bomb shelter behind his Santa Monica home, authorities said.

The blast killed John Bower, who was inside the shelter behind his two-story home at 501 24th St., authorities said.

A 100-pound circular hatch that covered the backyard shelter was blown into the sky, tearing the branches off some trees and landing about three houses away, said Santa Monica Fire Capt. Gary Gallinot.

Firefighters wearing gas masks arrived at the home shortly after the explosion around 4 p.m. They climbed into the shelter and took Bower’s pulse but found none, Gallinot said. The victim’s son, who lives in the house, was not injured, he said.

The force of the explosion was such that the windows of neighboring homes shattered and the sound was heard miles away.

“There was a really big boom and the house just shook,” said Rachel Glaub, 17, who lives about three blocks away. Neighbors and fire officials described the victim as extremely well-educated.

Bower built the 10-foot-deep shelter in the 1960s in response to the Cuban missile crisis, Gallinot said.

He apparently went down into the shelter periodically to “tinker around,” Gallinot said. An intact propane-powered generator was inside the shelter, fed by propane tanks above ground, he said.