GLOUCESTER , MASS. (WHDH) - An 82-year-old man was injured Wednesday after a fire broke out in his garage in Gloucester while he was working on a custom car.
The fire happened shortly near 10:30 a.m. and sent smoke and flames billowing into the sky over the Marina Drive neighborhood.
Later speaking with 7NEWS, the man’s daughter said her dad would not have survived the flames if not for the actions of a neighbor, who was also taken to a hospital to be checked out.
“The next door neighbor is a police officer,” said Danielle Pratl. “He was off duty. He heard the explosion and he ran next door and he dragged my father out.”
“It’s an absolute miracle that he’s alive,” she said.
Cell phone video from the scene showed some of the emergency response, with crews rushing to pour water on the house.
SKY7-HD later showed the aftermath of the fire, which badly damaged part of the home.
Pratl said her father owned an auto repair shop for 50 years. He recently retired and was fixing up his car.
“He was welding and, next thing we know, it was a big explosion,” Pratl said.
Gloucester fire chief Eric Smith said there were flammable containers and oxygen tanks inside the garage. Those containers and tanks eventually exploded.
“These were legitimate stored flammables and gasses that ignited and, clearly, some of them let loose or the container failed because of the heat of the fire and had a mass release and fireball from it,” Smith said.
Smith said firefighters were also able to get the fire fully under control by approximately 11:20 a.m.
Though the house’s garage is likely a total loss, Smith said crews prevented the fire from spreading to the rest of the home.
“The cause is clearly accidental in the garage, probably due to either his welding operation or an equipment failure — one or two, or maybe both,” Smith said.
By 4 p.m., the damaged garage on Marina Drive was boarded up.
While dealing with the aftermath of the fire, family members of the injured man said they were focused on his wellbeing.
“He’s a fighter and he definitely has a high tolerance to pain,” Pratl said. “So, he’s good. He shakes things off pretty easily.”
Pratl said her father was taken to Beverly Hospital, and has since been released.
Her father said he suffered a small burn to his finger and has a cut on his arm.
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