This van caught fire at the BP station on Hwy. 21 north of Hillsboro.
A van caught fire Tuesday afternoon (May 18) at the BP gas station on Hwy. 21 near Hwy. 110 north of De Soto, significantly damaging the van and some gas pumps. Fortunately, no one was injured, said John Scullin, spokesman for the De Soto Rural Fire Protection District.
He said he had no information about who had been driving the van.
The fire district got a call about the fire shortly before 4 p.m., and firefighters arrived on the scene about four minutes later, Scullin said.
“There was a van on fire at the pumps,” he said. “They quickly extinguished the fire. It didn’t get into the building. There was extreme damage to the last row of pumps. (Authorities) are evaluating the damage.”
Scullin said the cause of the van fire is unknown, but is not considered suspicious and not under investigation.
A spokesman for the gas station said (May 19) said the convenience store reopened this morning (May 19), but he did not know when the gas pumps would be available for use.
Scullin said the De Soto and Festus fire departments and the Hillsboro Fire Protection District helped with the call. The Valle Ambulance District also responded to the scene.