Dec 27, 2007 6:29 pm US/Central
Cars Burned During Fixing Of Water Main Break
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
A couple lost their ride Thursday after the water department came to their neighborhood and wound up charring their cars.
Apparently, a crew was working in the 3400 block of North Osage when something sparked fuel from a gas can. The cars were parked in the wrong place at the wrong time, as CBS 2's Pamela Jones reports.
A city crew is on the scene working to restore water service to neighbors in the area.
Another group of workers was trying to repair a broken water main and may have been filling a gas-powered pump with fuel when some of that gas caught fire.
Jamie Woodruff told his wife, "My God, the cars are on fire. And she's like, the cars are on fire? What do you mean the cars are on fire?"
Home video of the burning vehicles was captured by Woodruff. Both of the Woodruff's cars caught fire sometime around noon as crews were trying to fix a water main break nearby.
"Just saw a wall of flame going along this curb," Woodruff said. "And this car was quickly engulfed in flames and then it was reaching up to the next car."
CBS 2 was told crews were using a pump to get water out of a hole, but a gas can near the machine caught fire and the stream of water carried the fuel and the flames to the cars.
"It was just so surprising. I mean, they were working on a water main break. You don't think there's going to be anything involving flames," Woodruff said.
The couple is happy no one was hurt. But they hope the city will help them get their lives back to normal soon.
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