A gas explosion and blazing fire at the Sunset Highway Chevron station had a KOMO news helicopter circling the Town Center station yesterday evening.
Shortly after 5 p.m. on March 18, a ladder hanging from a Seattle Tree Service truck fell off the vehicle as it pulled away from the gasoline pump, according to Chevron employee Paul Birchard, who witnessed the incident.
The ladder crashed onto the pump station, getting lodged between the gas pump and the chipper. As the truck pulled away, the ladder “wiped out the pump,” Birchard said, causing the tank to explode into flames.
Within seconds, Birchard and fellow employee Chris Ulrich had shut off the emergency gas pump and were at the tank with fire extinguishers, attempting to put out the 12-foot-high billowing flames. Customers at the remaining four pump stations fled the scene on foot.
“They just took off! One lady at pump 5 even left her shoes behind,” Birchard said, adding that nobody was hurt.
Chevron station co-owner David Ulrich dialed 911 after the tank blew, and firefighters were at the scene within minutes.
Ulrich expressed mixed pride and awe at his employees’ brave reaction to the fire.
“Lots of people would have panicked at the sight. You should have seen the flames. They were 10 to 12 feet high. But my employees rushed to extinguish the fire and even moved our customers’ cars [away from the scene] before the fire was out,” he said.
According to Ulrich, the company’s insurance policy will cover all damages, which he estimates to be more than $75,000. The insurance policy also covers the time that Chevron is inoperable due to the fire. The station was closed today, although Ulrich hopes to be open by Saturday morning.
As for Seattle Tree Services, the driver was written a citation for driving with an “unsecured load.” The company reportedly has insurance to cover costs.
The Sunset Highway station was recently renovated — including all of its gas tanks, pumping stations and roofing — when it switched over from Shell to Chevron in January.
“This was all new. And now most of it’s gone,” Ulrich said. “We’re writing checks left and right.”
