SPILLED GAS PLUS SHOP VAC EQUALS TWO BURNED OUT CARS

A Marine learned yesterday that using a shop vac to clean up spilled gasoline probably isn’t such a good idea. According to Twentynine Palms Fire Captain Matt Helmkamp, Benjamin Potter, 27, had spilled gas in the back of his Jeep parked under a carport in the 801 Housing area off Joe Davis Drive in Twentynine Palms. Potter got a shop vac to try to dry out the gas in the back of the vehicle when a fire started, either by a spark or static electricity, about 1:30 Monday afternoon. Helmkamp said the fire destroyed the Jeep, as well as the Mazda Miata parked next to it, and the carport the vehicles were parked under. Two other cars suffered heat damage but were still drivable. No houses were threatened by the fire. Twentynine Palms fire fighters were able to put out the fires in about 15 minutes.