Man Injured in Bonny Oaks Fire

An early morning fire landed a worker in the hospital with serious burns. The Chattanooga Fire Department is trying to figure out what ignited the blaze.

At about 7:30 Tuesday morning Chattanooga Firefighters had reports of a flash fire that could be seen from across the street at the Bention Oil Company on Bonny Oaks Drive and Jersey Pike. Witnesses told them a man was severely burned and in shock.

Craig Fuqua, 42, of Ringgold, Georgia sustained 2nd degree burns to both legs and his right arm. He is at Erlanger Medical Center listed in serious condition. Though his condition will continue to be assessed by doctors, Fuqua is expected to remain at Erlanger for treatment of his injuries. Erlanger closed its burn center several weeks ago.

"The worker was using a pump and we're told the worker thought he was using a pump to pump water from around the underground storage tanks. It appears he was not pumping water he was pumping some kind of petroleum product," said Bruce Garner, the Public Information Officer with the CFD.

Exactly what kind of product is still under investigation but we do know ethanol is one of the products that is pumped from that area and that there are storage tanks close by.

"I suppose considering how big the fire is, we're told and the condition and the circumstances could've been worse. It could've gotten even worse than it did," said Garner.

With all of the fuel storage the fire department called in a hazmat response unit. Crews say they are working hard to make sure the rain doesn't run off into Friar's Branch which could eventually dump petroleum into the Tennessee River.

"We're not sure of the amount of fuel. We know we have greater than 10 gallons of fuel on the ground out here. We've gone and put some absorbent booms in to try and contain the run off from where it's running into the creek," said Daniel Hague, a Tactical Services Officer with CFD.

Fire Marshals spoke with workers and witnesses throughout the day to find out exactly what happened and how the fire sparked. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) has also joined in the investigation.