Temple University police car catches fire at gas station
NORTH PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A Temple University police vehicle caught fire at a North Philadelphia gas station on Monday.
It happened at 2:46 p.m. at the BP gas station located at Broad Street and Girard Avenue.
An Action News viewer captured the terrifying moments after the squad car went up in flames.
Witnesses say two Temple University police cars were filling up.
Temple University confirms one of their officers drove off with the nozzle still in the police cruiser.
That pulled the pump over, igniting the tank and the remaining police car.
Junaid Javed, co-owner of the gas station, explains, "So he left the nozzle inside the car, nozzle fell down and so did the pump. Caused a spark, and then fire."
Police say the fire was extinguished within ten minutes, but forced those inside the McDonald's next door to evacuate.
The police vehicle was towed away.
No injuries were reported.
Javed tells Action News the estimated damage will cost more than $20,000.
He doesn't know how long it will take to fix the pumps.
Temple University says the officer will remain on duty, but won't be driving while the incident is under review.
