SAN ANTONIO – A tanker truck driver escaped serious injury after an explosion and two-alarm fire at a welding facility Wednesday afternoon on the city’s North Side.
San Antonio fire Chief Charles Hood said the driver was delivering fuel at Quality Fence and Welding near the intersection of Wetmore Road and Thousand Oaks Drive around 2:30 p.m., when a spark during the transfer of fuel ignited an explosion and fire. Hood said the driver suffered some minor burns to his hands.
The explosion triggered a fire of about 4,000 gallons of diesel in the truck and 1,600 gallons of propane that Hood described as a “nasty mix of fuels.”
Sky 12 showed two San Antonio Fire Department ladder trucks spraying massive amounts of water on flames coming from propane tanks.
The fire destroyed one building and heavily damaged another, Hood said.
About 40 employees at the company safely evacuated and were not injured. Hood credited the company for having a good evacuation plan.
Hood said that a bystander was being treated for a heat-related issue at the scene and a determination would be made whether to transport the person to a hospital.