Flames erupt at abandoned gas station

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) -- Firefighters have extinguished an intense blaze that broke out at an abandoned gas station, Friday.

An old Texaco gas station, located at 1700 Cordova Road, was being demolished when the fire broke out.

Thick, black smoke was seen billowing from the gas station for miles around. "All of a sudden, there was a big explosion. All of a sudden, you just see smoke rise right away," said Michael Fierman, who lives nearby.

It took firefighters nearly an hour to put the fire out. Luckily, the pumps were already torn out before the blaze erupted.

A welder working at the scene said his blow torch got caught on one of the cloths inside the car wash and that's how he said the fire started. "The welder, his torch hit the cloth in a car wash, and it caught on fire," said Martin Carter who said the welder admitted as much.

The welder would not comment on the incident but said "Everybody's OK," and he was the only inside. Fire rescue crew members also were not injured during the firefight.

All lanes of Southeast 17th Street, both eastbound and westbound were closed in the area, as clean up continued throughout the day and fire marshals investigated.

The flames scorched whatever was left of the abandoned service station. The gas pumps had already been removed, so there was no threat of an explosion.

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