Man hurt in fire at gas pump

Thursday, June 24, 2004 | 10:53 a.m.

A Las Vegas man suffered second-degree burns this morning after gasoline fumes ignited as he was filling a gas can at a local filling station.

The man was transported to University Medical Center with second-degree burns on his legs after his pants caught fire while he was filling a portable gas can in the bed of his pickup truck, Ken Riddle, deputy chief for Las Vegas Fire and Rescue, said.

The fire occurred at a Shell station near the corner of Vegas Drive and Cimarron Road, he said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, Riddle said.

Mila Santos, the manager at the Green Valley Grocery convenience store at the gas station, said an early morning clerk alerted her to the fire.

She said the clerk dialed 911 after a customer in the store alerted him to the fire.

"He (the clerk) just told me that he saw the truck on fire," Santos said. "That's all he saw when the customer told him to look behind his back."

Santos said this is the first time she had seen a fire occur at a gas pump.

Santos estimated the damage to the gas station at between $50,000 to $100,000. As of this morning one of the station's pumps was functioning.

Static electricity is sometimes a cause in gas station fires, as dry air coupled with combustible gasoline fumes can create a dangerous combination, Riddle said. However, such cases only occur once or twice a year, he said.