Fire Razes Gas Station and Injures Mechanic
A Glendale mechanic was burned and a service station destroyed Friday when a gas tank he had removed from a car ignited, touching off a blaze that sent a towering pillar of black smoke over the city.
Glendale Fire Department spokesman Chris Gray said the mechanic, Albert Sanchez, 46, apparently dropped the gas tank, breaking a shop light which caused a spark that ignited fumes in the service bay.
Sanchez was treated at Glendale Memorial Hospital for first- and second-degree burns on his forearms.
The fire destroyed the Mobil Station at the corner of Glendale Avenue and Colorado Street and also damaged three cars in its service bay. However, the station’s gas pumps and underground tanks were never in danger, Gray said.
Fire officials estimated the damage at $250,000.
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