South Anchorage fuel vapor fire injures 1

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Firefighters say ignited fuel vapors injured one man and caused a car to go up in flames Thursday morning. The Anchorage Fire Department responded to the 4000 block of Lore Road at about 9:30 a.m.

According to AFD, a man in his thirties was removing the fuel tank with a saw so that it could be towed away. Sparks from the saw ignited vapors from the tank, burning the man and soon engulfing the car and a nearby fence.

One witness says neighbors rushed out with a fire extinguisher to help put out the blaze. According to firefighters, a quick response helped prevent the fire from spreading to nearby homes.

“All of our units are working todaym so we had plenty of help to respond -- everybody got here in a timely manner,” said AFD’s Jeff Dobson.

The victim was taken to a local hospital.

Contact Christine Kim at ckim@ktuu.com