ST. GEORGE — A man suffered burns over 10 percent of his body when a vehicle caught fire in a Littlefield, Ariz., salvage yard Sunday afternoon.
Shortly after 2:30 p.m. firefighters were called to vehicle fire at a salvage yard near the corner of Farm Road and Desert Springs Road in Littlefield, Arizona, involving a two-door passenger car, Beaver Dam/Littlefield Fire Chief Jeff Hunt said.
A Mohave County deputy on patrol saw the plume of smoke and flames, Hunt said, and reported the blaze, which brought firefighters and an ambulance to the wrecking yard.
Upon arrival firefighters found the vehicle in the middle of the wrecking yard fully engulfed in flames.
“The deputy saw the fire and is the one who got everyone rolling on it,” Hunt said.
EMTs also arrived and found an injured man near the scorched vehicle that suffered burns as salvage crews attempted to extinguish the blaze themselves. The man suffered second-degree burns and was treated at the scene but declined transport to the hospital, Hunt said.
The fire was extinguished within minutes.
Fire crews learned that the vehicle caught fire just as it was being lifted onto a stack of salvage vehicles, at which point workers grabbed a hose and started fighting the blaze. The men were unable to continue once they lost water pressure.
The owner was lifting the vehicle with the forklift when the fire erupted, and he dropped the car in the middle of the yard when the heat became so intense that it burned all of the hair on his arms.
“That was a perfect place to release the car since no other cars or materials were nearby that could have ignited,” Hunt said, “and his actions prevented the fire from spreading.”
It was at that point that the Mohave County deputy observed the fire while on patrol, and called in to report it.
The fire started inside of the vehicle from an unknown cause, Hunt said, as no external source could be identified.
Mohave County Sheriff’s Office and Beaver Dam Littlefield Fire District and Ambulance responded and tended to the scene.
This report is based on statements from police or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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Plume of smoke rises into air after two-door passenger car catches fire in salvage on Farm Road Sunday, Littlefield, Ariz., Sept. 24, 2017 | Photo courtesy of Beaver Dam/Littlefield Fire District, St. George News Two-door passenger car catches fire in a salvage yard on Farm Road Sunday, Littlefield, Ariz., Sept. 24, 2017 | Photo courtesy of Beaver Dam/Littlefield Fire District, St. George News
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