“Unknown” Firefighter Helps Gas Station Avert Catastrophe

(San Clemente, Ca) – “Gasoline and fire do not mix,” said a very grateful Shell gas station owner nearly two weeks after a fire erupted at his San Clemente gas station just off the 5 Freeway in the 2400 Block of S El Camino Real.

Hiram DeFries, president of the company that owns the Shell gas station that suffered the incident says he is grateful to his employees who responded “perfectly and quickly” in the face of danger, to an unknown Good-Samaritan off-duty firefighter who pulled over to help and to Orange County Fire Authority firefighters who responded on scene within minutes of the 6:27 p.m. 911-call.

“OCFA firefighters responded quickly to the gas station following the 911-call,” said Captain PIO Steve Concialdi. “When OCFA firefighters arrived, they found an off-duty firefighter on scene working to shut the power off. The “S” in the plastic Shell sign on the canopy of the gas station was on fire. Water and electricity do not mix.”

“Apparently, rain water leaked into the electric part of the Shell sign on the canopy covering the gas pumps and it caused a shortage which caused the fire,” DeFries said. The consciences DeFries has poured over the situation with various officials in an attempt to figure out how the fire occurred – and to prevent it from ever happening again.

“Gas and fire don’t mix,” DeFries said. “Our employee followed all emergency protocols perfectly. There was also an off-duty firefighter that was helping the employee initially to fight the fire. We do not know this firefighter’s name, but I would love to thank him – along with OCFA firefighters who responded that night.”

All involved that night prevented a major catastrophe from occurring – not only at the station itself and for nearby businesses and residences, but for unsuspecting drivers on the Santa Ana 5 Freeway directly next to and below this gas station.

“It was fortuitous the off-duty firefighter came by at that time,” DeFries said. “If there is one lesson for others to learn from our situation – make sure all employees know what to do in case of an emergency.”

“The fire had extended straight up even in the rain,” DeFries said. “Some sign experts have even said they have never seen this happen before. It is still a head-scratcher.”

“Three fire engines and a truck company from OCFA responded to the scene,” Concialdi said. A fire truck is the larger apparatus with specialized tools, an aerial ladder and firefighters with specialized training, he added.

“OCFA’s truck company performed a complete overhaul of the burned out area using a thermal imaging camera to ensure the fire and embers had not extended beyond the Shell sign initially involved,” Concialdi said.

According to Wikipedia, a Thermal Imaging Camera is a type of thermographic camera used in firefighting. By rendering infrared radiation as visible light, such cameras allow firefighters to see areas of heat through smoke, darkness, or heat-permeable barriers.

“With a Thermal Imaging Camera (TIC), they looked for hot spots and then the firefighters removed burned debris and any hot material from where the sign burned,” Concialdi said.

DeFries said the gas station is back in business; however, the Shell sign that caught fire has not been replaced. DeFries said he ironically has paperwork submitted to the City of San Clemente awaiting approval for his station to upgrade to new LED signage.

“Our application to have all signs at the Shell gas station upgraded to LED signage is still in process with the City,” DeFries said.

According to http://www.fireserviceinfo.com/ranks.html, some terminology and the rank structure in the fire service is generally accepted as something that came from the Civil War. In the early days, of North American fire departments, orders were given to the troops, by officers, through the use of a large brass device that resembles a megaphone. These were very ornate brass horns. They were commonly called “bugles” or speaking trumpets.

Fire department units are usually divided into a few basic categories:
Company- This is the basic unit. This is made up of a single piece of apparatus and its crew. The company can be supervised by an officer. This is usually a Captain or Lieutenant.
• Firefighter - (FF) –The generic term for all members of a fire department.
• Driver - Also known as “Engineer”; In most departments this is the person who drives the vehicle and operates the pump or aerial. He is a specialist who knows everything about that piece of apparatus.
• Captain - (Capt.) - This officer commands a single company but also is the ranking officer at a station that may have several companies. This officer is often the initial command at emergencies and can be called upon to fill in for the Battalion Chief during his or her absence.

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