Truck Leaks Natural Gas, Causes $2M in Damage in Kansas Fire

Authorities have determined the cause of a fire that caused more than $2 million in damage and losses at a truck maintenance facility in southwest Wichita, Kansas.

Wichita fire Lt. Jose Ocadiz says employees were doing mechanical work Monday on a tractor-trailer fueled by compressed natural gas when a gas leak reached a heater inside the building and started the fire at Fleet Maintenance Inc. The Wichita Eagle reports that Ocadiz says that the blaze caused $1.5 million in damage to the building and $750,000 in losses the building contents.

The company fixes large trucks and semis. Owner Stan Furgason says the company employs 22, but not all worked on Monday.