“…Oily rags ignited a Sunday morning fire that caused several propane tanks to explode at the Gingham restaurant owned by a celebrity chef…the rags were balled up and tossed in a bin when they should have been 
laid out to dry and stored in a properly approved container…”
Most of the estimated $50,000 in damage occurred in the exterior courtyard between Gingham and the shop next door, McCrea Music Company. The businesses reside between La Mesa Boulevard and Allison Avenue.
Initial reports at 5:48 a.m. were of a rubbish fire behind the restaurant. When fire crews arrived three minutes later, the flames were 10 feet high and firefighters witnessed multiple explosions of propane tanks. In all, as many as 10 of the 35 tanks stored behind the restaurant exploded.
Battalion Chief Bent Koch said it appeared that the cleaning rags from the restaurant, which were stored in a container outside, had spontaneously combusted.
For more: http://www.nctimes.com/fire-at-la-mesa-s-gingham-restaurant/article_a596c7f7-4b96-5250-8d65-5e8532cf6144.html
