ANACORTES — Two trucks were destroyed and a garage scorched in an explosion sparked by a brother and sister siphoning gas from a diesel truck Wednesday evening.
The adult brother and sister were using an electric air pump to siphon gas that had accidentally been put into the woman’s 2002 Ford pickup, said Anacortes Fire Department Chief Richard Curtis.
They were pumping the gas into an open container in the alley behind the woman’s 16th Street home.
Officials believe the fumes from that container caught on fire when they came in contact with the electricity of the air pump, causing an explosion around 8:30 p.m., Curtis said.
Both the brother and the sister received minor burns on their faces and arms but refused medical treatment, Curtis said.
He estimated $46,000 in damage. The woman’s Ford and her 1962 Chevy pickup parked nearby were totaled and a neighbor’s garage was damaged by the flames.
Firefighters squelched the fire within 20 minutes of their arrival, Curtis said.
He said gas should never be siphoned with an electric device or into an open container.
Tahlia Ganser can be reached at 360-416-2148 or at .
