Truck Bursts Into Flames

By: C. Harold Pierce

A pickup truck caught fire after its gasoline line leaked in the parking lot south of Dunlap Hall Monday morning.

The Nissan Frontier’s engine burst into flames when the owner attempted to put it out himself. No one was injured.

Firefighters arrived at about 9:40 a.m. and put the fire out within 20 minutes.

“I had a little bottle of water in the truck, and tried putting it out with that, but the flames got bigger,” said Arturo Franco, the owner of the truck.

Franco was on his way to class at about 9:15 a.m. when his engine started smoking.

When cars catch fire in parking lots it, other cars are typically damaged by the fire, said Orange County Fire Department Captain David Wolfe.

Another car on the driver’s side of the truck was slightly damaged.

“We’re lucky no other cars caught fire,” said District Safety and Security Supervisor Lt. James Wooley.

Campus safety officers tried putting out the flames with fire extinguishers, but they didn’t do much good, said Eduardo Perez, who witnessed the accident.