CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Investigators with the Corpus Christi Fire Department say the cause of yesterday's major fire along Interstate-37 was operator error.
The fire broke at at a heavy engine and hydraulic repair facility that contained various flammable products in the 7400 block of the Interstate 37 access road near Suntide Road.
According to CCFD Deputy Fire Marshal Capt. Mike Tressider, a couple of shop employees were working on a car in the garage and were using a rag with ignitable liquid to start it. The fire broke out when the car backfired and caused the rag to catch fire.
The employee threw the rag which landed on something that had some ignitable fluid. The flames eventually spread to storage items that had oil and grease and the car caught on fire.
Since the employees could not put out the flames, they pulled the car out of its bay as to not burn the structure. When they pulled the car out, they caused a grass fire.
Luckily, several fire crews, including a crew with the Annaville Volunteer Fire Department, arrived and extinguished the blaze.
According to Tressider, no one was injured but the fire damaged the car and caused significant damage to the front third of the building.
