ENGINE FIRE

This picture of my 65 bug was taken by David Grimes of The Review and posted on Saturdays front page.

(It's already back on the road! )6:15pm saturday

Calcutta business employees suppress car fire

CALCUTTA - Several business employees came to the rescue of a father and son who were passengers in a vehicle that caught fire on state Route 170 Friday afternoon.

A 1965 Volkswagen Beetle driven by Tony Bazidlo erupted in flames when a fuel hose became unattached and leaked gasoline in the rear engine compartment. He was able to exit the vehicle and help unfasten the seat belt, which became jammed momentarily, of his son.

Area business employees, armed with fire extinguishers, were able to put out the fire before Calcutta and Glenmoor volunteer fire departments arrived on scene. No one was reportedly injured at the scene.

"I heard an explosion, the hood blew open, I jumped out and there was a ball of fire," Bazidlo said, recalling the incident. He added when he was running into the Alltel store, a rush of people were running the opposite way to help put out the fire.

"There were a lot of people (at the scene) and they weren't just bystanders," Bazidlo said. He added there were about six people with fire extinguishers around the car.

Employees from Amerilube, J&C Heating and Cooling, Alltel and Georgio's Oven Fresh Pizza assisted with the fire, Bazidlo said.

Bazidlo said he was heading north on state Route 170 when he heard an explosion and saw flames in the rear of his vehicle. He attempted to pull into the Georgio's Oven Fresh Pizza's plaza, saw a storage truck parked near the entranceway and decided to take the car into an embankment.

Rich Grandstaff, Amerilube manager, was the first to respond to the scene and was one of the several individuals that helped quell the flames. He said he first heard a "kickback" on the roadway and then saw Bazildo's car in flames.

"I saw the fire and grabbed a fire extinguisher," Grandstaff said. "I'm glad no one got hurt."

Squad 32 of the Calcutta Volunteer Fire Department was first to arrive on scene and the automatic mutual aid brought Glenmoor Volunteer firefighters as well.

Burn damages were contained to the rear hood, bumper and the backseat of the vehicle. Bazidlo said he can repair the damages. He was able to save a business computer that was also in the vehicle.

Bill Tice Services was dispatched to remove the car.


Full story on the news paper front page below:
http://www.reviewonline.com/page/content.detail/id/517726.html?nav=5008

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