Incident Type: 
Explosion
Dispatch: 
Friday, February 5, 2021 - 9:04am
Arrival: 
Friday, February 5, 2021 - 9:09am
Address: 
3700 block Milwaukee Street
Madison, WI
Narrative: 

One person was taken to the hospital with second-degree burns caused by a flash fire at an oil change garage.

Ladder Co. 1 and Medic 8 responded to the Woodman’s Gas & Lube Center on Milwaukee Street. They were directed to an injured worker who reported removing the oil plug from a vehicle when the engine oil, which was pressurized at the time, caught fire. The ignition was sudden and brief. It self-extinguished in seconds but not before catching the employee's shirt, causing burns to their upper body. The patient had been working in a basement pit and was not trapped beneath the vehicle at the time of the fire. A shield and mask they were wearing at the time protected them from further injury to their face and lungs.

Flames also briefly entered the passenger compartment of the vehicle through dash vents, causing minor injury to the driver inside. The driver was evaluated but did not require transport to the hospital.
 
The MFD Fire Investigation Team determined the fire was accidental and the result of the pressurized oil coming into contact with super-heated components of the vehicle’s exhaust system. Damage from the fire was contained to the vehicle itself and did not spread to the facility.

Posted 02/05/2021 - 7:05pm
Contacts: 

Cynthia Schuster (Public Information Officer)