Chief Says Fire Started at Bathroom When Pressure Washer Ran Out of Gas

From KRGV News, Brownsville Harlingen
Two Brownsville city workers are recovering. Investigators say they were power washing a city park bathroom when their equipment caught on fire.

Firefighters say the workers could have been killed. What began as a list of Monday morning duties quickly turned into a life-and-death situation. Two city workers were pressure washing a bathroom at the Brownsville Sports Park when something sparked a blaze.

“There was a fire involving the equipment. My understanding is that we had two employees that were taken to the hospital, one potentially for burns and one potentially for smoke inhalation,” says Brownsville Assistant City Manager Jeff Johnston.

Fire Chief Lenny Perez says the fire started when the employees’ pressure washer ran out of gas. “That particular restroom is not well ventilated so when they opened up the gas can to refill the pressure washer, the vapors of the gasoline ignited and that’s what caused the flash fire,” says Perez.

Perez explains to us how this fire could have been avoided. “They need to be taken outside to a well-ventilated area, preferably outside and filled. That way the fumes dissipate quickly,” says Perez.

Johnston is still looking into what happened. “One is that if there was a procedure that wasn’t followed. We want to make sure we follow up on that. Secondly, if we find a situation where we would need a procedure and there wasn’t one, we want to take that opportunity to make sure we take care of that so we don’t repeat injuries or damage in the future,” says Johnston.

The city has shut down the restroom to make repairs and conduct this investigation. The workers were taken to the hospital for treatment. It’s expected they’ll be back on the job soon.