Gas Station Customer Helped Save Fire Victim: Report

A customer at a local gas station may have saved the life of a motorcyclist who suffered severe burns Thursday in a flash fire, according to media reports.

Billy Houston, the customer, burned his hand while helping the fire victim, AJC.com reported. The fire began when the victim, an unidentified 53-year-old man, was filling up at 8:08 a.m. Thursday at the Chevron at Trickum and Shallowford roads. The motorcycle’s gas tank overflowed and the spilled gasoline ignited.

Houston saw the motorcycle and the man catch fire and ran to assist the victim, using his sweater to put out the flames on the victim’s legs and lower body, AJC.com reported.

It wasn’t clear if the motorcycle’s engine was running at the time of the fire, said Dan Dupree, a spokesman for the Cobb County Fire and Rescue Department. But witnesses said the motorcycle’s radio was blaring at the time, he said.

The motorcyclist was airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital, and Houston was taken to a local hospital via ambulance, where he was treated and released Thursday.