Crime & Safety

Fire Chief: Flames Stopped Before Reaching 20,000 Gallon Gas Tank[VIDEO]

Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of an explosion that cause 5,000 gallon gasoline tanker to explode at 2 a.m. Friday at a Gulf gas station located Secor Lane in Pelham Manor. The driver of the tanker and two gas station attendants wer

UPDATE(1:30 P.M.)

The smell of gasoline was still heavy in the air in Pelham Manor as fire officials continued to sift through the scene of this morning's gas tanker explosion on Secor Lane.

“We’re still trying to determine the cause and origin,” said Joseph Ruggiero, chief of the Pelham Manor Fire Department. “We’ll be here for another couple of hours.”

Ruggiero said the tanker exploded at the right side of the gas station, located just of the intersection of the Pelham Parkway, while making a delivery. He was unsure how much gasoline was inside the tanker at the time of the explosion.

The driver of the tanker and two gas station attendants were able to escape the fire without injury.Firefighters from Pelham and New York City also arrived at the scene as firefighters arrived.  Ruggiero said firefighters were just trying to keep the gas station and , an auto repair shop located next to the gas station, covered in water until foam trucks arrived.

Ruggiero said firefighters had other concerns in addition to keeping the fire away from the gas pumps.

“We were worried about [ Future Automotive] collapsing and there was also a 20,000 above ground gas tanker located in the back [of the gas station],” Ruggiero said.

Ruggiero said firefighter were able to keep the blaze at bay and eventually got it under control in about 45 minutes. The fire destroyed the convenience store located on the gas station and the roof of the repair shop.

Pelham Parkway was closed off until about 10 a.m. and Secor Lane remained closed Friday afternoon.

Artie Desio, the owner of Future Automotive, was at the shop with his workers Friday morning. Ruggiero said he wasn’t letting them inside the building to gather whatever was salvageable before closing it off.

Desio said the fire was devastating.

“With the economy as bad as it is, you wouldn’t think that things could get any worse,” he said.

Ruggiero said firefighters from Mount Vernon, Yonkers, White Plains, New Rochelle also assisted at the scene.

Find out what's happening in Pelhamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

(Original Post)

An investigation is continuing into an overnight explosion and fire at a Pelham Manor gas station.

Find out what's happening in Pelhamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The blaze at the Gulf station on Secor Lane took place shortly before 2 a.m. and kept firefighters from departments from throughout the area working at the scene for several hours.

A tanker truck at the station was reported to be destroyed while it was there making a gas delivery. The blaze also set the gas station on fire.


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