IMPORTANT

Humboldt Worker Provides Emergency Support to Motorist's Burning Vehicle

Date: October 29, 2024
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Vegetation Management inspector Alex Briseno was heading west on Highway 36 to PG&E's Eureka service yard when he spotted trouble ahead.

 

“Several hundred feet up the road, I saw a billow of smoke," he said. "But it didn’t smell like a vegetation fire.”

 

As Briseno continued down the freeway, he saw a white camper van parked on the shoulder.

 

 “A gentleman was standing next to it and smoke was just billowing out the back,” he said.

 

Briseno pulled into a turn out, put on his hazard lights and asked if he could help. The camper van owner was grateful for the assistance, and the vehicle was parked far enough off the road that they were able to interact safely. As Briseno placed orange safety cones around his own truck, he took a mental inventory of the tools he had on hand.   

 

“The first thing I did was hand the man a fire extinguisher so he could get to work,” said Briseno.

 

Next, Briseno grabbed his backpack water pump — a portable sprayer for fighting spot fires — from the back of his truck. He could tell by the smoke and flames that the majority of the fire was inside the truck and they needed access to the interior to make an impact.

 

“The backpack water pump was critical to this effort. If we didn’t have that, it would have been a lot worse,” said Briseno.  He added that as part of his role at PG&E, he’s required to carry both a backpack pump and a fire extinguisher in case they encounter or ignite a fire during vegetation management work.

 

Briseno started the hand pump on the window latches.

 

“We needed to get the window latches cool enough so that we could open the windows and get the water inside. The handles had a twist latch that you need to lift up. The camper van owner had attempted to open them, but without gloves the latches were too hot to handle with bare hands,” said Briseno.

 

After a few minutes, the water had cooled the window latches down enough to get them open and water down the inside.

 

“As soon as we opened the windows, smoke came billowing out and we saw the problem: a handheld torch that the owner had used on a plumbing job was blowing full blast. The switch must have gotten flipped while it was in the trunk and it was just blowing flames,” said Briseno.

 

Compounding the issue were canvas cloths in the camper van trunk that had caught fire from the torch. Briseno and the car owner worked to remove the flammable drop cloths from the back of the truck, which greatly calmed down the fire. A few minutes later, emergency personnel arrived on the scene to extinguish the car fire.

 

Reflecting on the situation, Briseno had advice for coworkers or friends who may find themselves in similar situations.

 

“If you carry tools in your vehicle, check them regularly," he said. "Make sure they are ready to go. My backpack sprayer was critical for this situation, but I hadn’t used it in a while and when I first got it going, the spray device was only sputtering. I was kicking myself — could there be a worse time for this to malfunction?!”

 

Fortunately, it turned out it was just a kink in the hose and the water soon began flowing.

 

On providing assistance in the community, Briseno noted that he’s always happy to help people out.

 

 “I’m from a small town," he said. "Most people still wave at each other driving down the street and if you need something you can always ask your neighbor. That’s instilled in me as a small-town resident and also from my job at PG&E. At PG&E, our culture is helping others, especially in safety situations.”