A Tuesday evening fire at the propane tanks outside the local Walmart store is not being treated as suspicious, but the cause is still under investigation, Whitehorse Fire Chief Jason Everitt said today.

Everitt said the fire department received the call at 9:18 p.m. Tuesday.

There was a full response by the fire department, he told the Star, with two fire trucks and the command vehicle.

Initial information suggested a propane tank was on fire. When firefighters arrived, they noticed it was a tarp that lay around the tanks that was ablaze, he said.

Everitt said part of the tarp was still draped on a tank.

Kudos go out to the staff of Walmart who responded to the alarm by first of all making sure everybody in the store stayed safe, he said.

Everitt said Superior Propane is assisting with the investigation.

“They understand the mechanics of the system better than anybody, and they are looking into it to see what might have caused that,” he said.

There many parts to the system that could have possibly failed, he said.

Everitt noted propane tanks are made out of steel and are very solid.

They are also fitted with an emergency pressure valve that will blow open if the tanks are under to much heat, but that did not happen in this case, he said.