Spartanburg,
SC Refueling Fire!
Revisited with Mr. Sierra May 15,2002
by Steve Fowler
The
original story ran the week of the accident. We went back to Mr. Sierra's
Restaurant for some fine Mexican Food and took the opportunity to listen
to his story again with some details we had not heard or asked at the
time along with a few newly added tidbits. By the way, Jan says, try
the "Chicken and Rice."
Mr.
Sierra said that soon after his story ran in the local news, a woman
(who gave no name) called him at his restaurant and said: This happened
to me last December at the "Super K-Mart" and no-one believes
me." He told her that he believed her. She said she was not hurt
since the fire was put out so quickly but everyone said she must have
been smoking. Neither Mr. Sierra nor this woman have ever smoked. Mr.
Sierra said he went by the BP station
where his accident happened - now in his new car. He purchased gas at
a different island. The burned one still shows severe signs of the fire.
He asked the lady at the station, "What happened?" He was
told, "Some Mexican was smoking!"
They did not even remember him and had their story revised to fit their
needs. It seems that it is better for people to hear "smoking"
than "static" because it makes more sense in their minds due
to their inability to understand and accept the dangers. This is the
"Conspiracy of Silence" of which
I have spoken in the past.
I
asked Mr. Sierra to explain the initial fire he saw when he heard the
"spark". He said it was a flash
like a transparent ball that came up out of the fuel port and disappeared.
Then there was fire around the fuel door which drifted downward like
a "waterfall." As he pulled the nozzle out, he sprayed fuel
with transparent flames into the back of bed of the truck for an instant
before he dropped the nozzle and ran to get hid daughter out of the
truck. By the time he was getting his daughter out of the passenger
side of the truck, the truck bed was on fire with orange flames and
orange/blue flames were coming up from underneath the truck "licking
at his legs." He ran with his daughter for just a few feet before
the main explosion erupted.
Mr.
Sierra has a sister named Guadeloupe who was born on the date of the
sighting of the Virgin. Maybe there is a saint watching him now.
Original Story
by Jennifer Hazen February 20,2002
The proud owner of a new Toyota Tundra
truck stopped Monday morning, Feb. 18, 2002, to refuel for the first
time. It turned out to be a day he will not soon forget!
Ignacio
Sierra stopped at the BP Station at I85 & Hwy. 221 in Spartanburg,
South Carolina, around 8:30am, with his 6 year old daughter, Esperanza.
Mr. Sierra is the owner of "Nachos" Mexican Restaurant on
Hwy. 9 at Lake Bowen. (great food, by the way)
Mr. Sierra stepped out of his truck to
begin refueling. When he reached $8 of fuel he stopped to check his
wallet to make sure he had enough money for the purchase. He went back
and opened the door of his truck, kneeled in the seat to reach the visor
where he kept his wallet. He saw that he had $20 so he began to pump
more gas. That is when Mr. Sierra heard a loud POP! He looked down to
see flames shooting out of the gas tank of his truck.
Mr
Sierra then stated: "I pulled the nozzle out and flames were
shooting from it. I threw it to the ground and it was shooting flames
under the truck. I ran around to the other side to get my daughter out.
She
was crying and I was screaming something like 'it's ok, I'll get you!'
I then ran away from the fire, carrying my daughter. Then I heard the
tires blow."
When Mr. Sierra ran to the otherside of
the BP station, he was met by the station attendant screaming, "Somebody
call 911!" 
We
found out later upon interviewing the fire chief that the fuel cut off
was right beside the cash register where the attendant had been standing.
In the panic of the moment, the fuel was not shut off until the fire
marshall came and turned it off. As Mr. Sierra stated, he pumped $8
worth of gas but the report optained by the fire marshall shows over
25 gallons was pumped. That means aproximately 17 gallons was pumped
after Mr. Sierra's truck caught fire and he dropped the nozzle. The
question remains in our minds as to how the nozzle continued to pump
gasoline while on the ground. These nozzles did not have auto latching
handles.
The ESD Journal spoke with Mr. Sierra the
day after the fire. He was very grateful to still have his daughter."I
can always get another truck!", he stated.
The Cherokee Springs Fire Department responded
to the alarm.
Reporters for the ESD Journal also spoke with the Fire
Chief, Pat Murray, and the Spartanburg County Fire Marshal, Bill Hall.
They were willing to discuss this with us because they feel (as we do)
that not enough publicity is given to these types of fires and are often
said to be rare. The fire marshall agreed with us that these refueling
fires are anything but rare and need more investigating.
For more information on
Stop Static awareness visit
the Petroleum Equipment Institute's website at:
http://www.pei.org/static/index.htm
auto fires refueling static fires
gas pump fires gas fires gas explosions static explosions fires at service
stations car fires static electricity gas fires static gas pump fires
static fire accidents car fill-up fires electrostatic fire static fires
auto fire auto fires
