One dead, two hospitalized after RV catches fire at suburban Chicago gas station
STICKNEY, Ill. (CBS) -- One person was killed, and two others were injured, when an RV fire caught fire at a gas station in Stickney Wednesday afternoon.
"Fire" and "gas station" are not words you never want to hear together - but that was exactly what played out what played out at the Gas N Wash station at 3800 S. Cicero Ave., at Pershing Road, in Stickney.
As CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported, officials said the person who died was inside the Covington LX recreational vehicle that was completely torched.
Investigators late Wednesday were still trying to determine how the chain of events played out. But witnesses and investigators said they saw a smoke and thick fire coming from the RV. The orange glow could be seen from the nearby Stevenson Expressway.
The two people who were injured and hospitalized were outside the RV, and were believed to have suffered burns. Investigators said when they arrived on scene, they did not realize immediately that someone was inside the RV.
"One of the victims was out of the RV in front of the store. The other one was closer to the carwash," said Stickney Fire Chief Jeff Boyajian. "At that point, after interviewing them, we heard that there was a third victim; that he did not make it out."
"I really just saw vehicles near it, so…. People were away, but the vehicle was still next to the RV, so you know with the pump - and then next to the pump, there's a vehicle," added a witness. "I just saw the smoke in the air. It might explode, you know? It's scary."
The canopy over the Gas N Wash station was damaged by the fire, and the pumps were scorched. The RV was completely destroyed.
Witnesses said there were other people getting gas at the gas station at the time the RV was engulfed in flames. The Stickney Fire Department late Wednesday was not ready to say if those other people were in harm's way – and whether or not they ran.
We do know that investigators are looking over the surveillance video from the gas station and nearby businesses to get a better idea as to what sparked the fire. But late Wednesday, there was a lot still to sort out but.
Authorities late Wednesday were also still waiting to get a positive identification on the person who died in the fire.
It remained unclear Wednesday evening what sparked the fire.