Fire engulfs Comox gas station after car hits fuel pump

Several people were forced to flee their homes after a Comox gas station burst into flames Saturday evening.

The blaze started around 7 p.m., when a car drove into a gas pump at the Esso on Anderton Road and caught on fire, witnesses tell CTV News.

The flames spread from the car to the pump, nearby propane tanks and then the gas station itself, destroying the building. There were multiple explosions, and a plume of smoke could be seen throughout the Comox Valley.

Apartment buildings near the gas station were evacuated due to the risk of further explosions and the thick smoke pouring out of the Esso, also home to the Garlic & Pepper Eatery.

“When I came out of my house to look, I see this great big fire. Heard a loud bang and then saw the smoke,” James Cunningham, one of the evacuees, told CTV News.

“You could see the flames, smoke, (in) one of them you could hear an explosion—of course not a big one, and all the sirens of course,” said Peter Bovin, another witness, who took videos of the scene.

Fire crews from Comox, Courtenay and Cumberland all battled the blaze.

Three ambulances arrived at the scene and took two people to hospital in stable condition, BC Emergency Health Services told CTV News.

Comox Mayor Nicole Minions said in a statement Saturday that preliminary reports were that there were only minor injuries.

“We are grateful for the commitment of our local and regional fire departments and first responders in their actions this evening,” she wrote.

“Sending the small business owners our thoughts and community support this evening and into the future.”

The investigation into the fire is ongoing.