Crime & Safety
Fire Injures One, Guts Auto Repair Shop
Auto mechanic suffers arm burns when gas tank of car he was working on exploded.
An auto mechanic suffered burns to his arm and the garage he was working in was gutted by fire Monday afternoon.
The Troy Township Fire Department extinguished the 3 p.m. inferno at Auto Masters, a repair shop at 724 Cottage St.
The blaze destroyed the Auto Masters building and consumed three vehicles inside, but firefighters saved an adjoining business and a pair of apartments connected by a breezeway to the garage
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The fire was sparked when a mechanic lost his hold on the gas tank of a car he was working on, said Troy Township Fire Chief Steve Engledow. The gas tank slipped from the mechanic's grasp and landed on a drop light.
The impact with the drop light caused the tank to explode, and the fireball burned the mechanic's arm.
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The injured man and other Auto Masters workers escaped with their lives. The burned mechanic was reportedly transported to Provena St. Joseph Medical Center.
Firefighters had the blaze extinguished inside of two hours. There were concerns about some leaking tanks but no explosions resulted.
A large stretch of Cottage Street was closed to traffic for a long stretch of Monday afternoon.
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