A fire and potential explosion at an auto body shop in Cape Cod, MA, resulted in critical injuries for one man, who was subsequently airlifted to a Boston area hospital.
At 2:23 p.m. June 7, Barnstable police dispatchers received an emergency call reporting a fire or explosion at 105 Ferndoc St. Fire and police officials promptly responded to the scene, where they encountered visible smoke and flames. One person was confirmed to be trapped inside the building.
Firefighters entered the premises to conduct a search and rescue operation, locating and extracting the injured man from the fire. The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, "required extensive decontamination prior to being flown to a Boston area hospital by Boston Medflight," according to officials.
Additional fire units arrived on the scene and extinguished the blaze. Investigations revealed the incident was linked to the "failure of a waste oil storage tank which released a substantial amount of oil and other fluids," officials stated. Efforts are currently underway to mitigate the environmental impact of the oil spill.