The Rockin' K Service station in Dunlap was destroyed when flammable fumes ignited Wednesday morning.
The incident took place at Rockin K Solutions, 310 N. Sixth St.
“A couple of employees were working with brake drum cleaner,” Dunlap Fire Chief Pat Cogdill said.
Some of it spilled on the floor and was giving off a strong odor, he said. An employee, not realizing the fumes were flammable, plugged in a fan, and the spark cause a flash fire. There was also a waste oil drum, tractor and truck in the building containing flammable liquids.
There were four people in the building when the fire started, Cogdill said.
“All the employees were evacuated right away,” he said.
Firefighters were paged at 9:23 a.m., Cogdill said, and utility companies were called out to shut off the power and gas.
“The response was very quick, and mutual aid from other towns was also very quick,” he said.
Fire departments from Earling, Woodbine, Dow City, Denison, Harlan and other cities joined Dunlap Fire & Rescue to bring the fire under control in about two hours, Cogdill said. Denison's crew brought an aerial ladder truck, which allowed firefighters to hose the fire down from above and dispensed water much faster. Firefighters continued to look for hot spots for several more hours.
“We responded because there were some hazardous materials,” Harlan Fire Chief Roger Bissen said. “There was oil and fuels involved.”
Some runoff from the scene did flow into a storm drain across the street and empty into the Boyer River, Cogdill said. Responders quickly put down tubes to stop the runoff. The socks, as they are called, contain an absorbent material that attracts oil but not water, he said.
There were no major injuries, he said, but at least one employee went in a private vehicle to seek treatment for a minor burn.
