Static electricity sparked a flash fire yesterday that burned a 10-year-old boy and his mother after they filled their tank at a service station in Chesterfield County, authorities said.
The boy was reported in critical condition last night at VCU Medical Center with burns to his face and torso. His mother suffered less severe burns, apparently to her hands, and was listed in stable condition, Chesterfield fire Capt. Keith Chambers said.
Chesterfield authorities would not release the victims' identities yesterday.
Within hours of the 8:12 a.m. blaze, fire officials determined that static electricity was the likely cause of the fire at Hull Street and Turner roads.
"It is rare, but it does occur," said Chambers, Chesterfield's deputy fire marshal. "There have been documented cases all over the world," including at least one other case in Chesterfield.
Chambers said that about 10 years ago, a fire started while a man was filling gas cans in the back of his pickup truck in Chester, but he escaped serious injury.
Just before yesterday's fire, the mother had finished pumping gas and removed the nozzle from her vehicle. The car's engine apparently was off, witnesses told investigators.
The mother then passed the nozzle to her son, who was returning it to the pump holder when a spark of static electricity ignited gasoline vapors.
The mother told investigators she saw flames around the nozzle's tip.
"Usually those nozzles have some residual gasoline left in them, depending how you pick them up out of your vehicle," Chambers said.
Battalion Chief David E. Bailey said firefighters arrived within four minutes of the call. Bailey said a nearby Verizon employee, later identified by the company as Brian Stanley, took off his coat and helped extinguish the flames on the boy.
There was little trace of the fire yesterday, aside from a few black scorch marks near the pump. The car was not damaged.
Although the investigation is continuing, fire officials said they are almost certain that static electricity is to blame. Chambers said static electricity is common at this time of the year, because the air is so dry.
Verizon spokesman Harry J. Mitchell said Stanley, the service technician who assisted the boy, declined to be interviewed about his actions. Another man helped at the scene.
Stanley, a 40-year-old King William County resident, was servicing a Verizon pay phone at the station, Mitchell said. Stanley installs and services pay phones throughout the Richmond area.
"He feels he was just fulfilling his obligation to do the right thing," Mitchell said. "And he hopes that someone would do the same for him or his family in similar circumstances."
Contact Mark Bowes at (804) 649-6450 or mbowes@timesdispatch.com.
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