Fire that started at Stripes gas station an act of arson, investigators say
Arson investigators determined that the fire was intentional based on evidence gathered at the scene, witness interviews and security camera footage from a nearby 7-Eleven convenience store, according to a written statement from Assistant Fire Chief Juan 'Tony' Perez.
The man, identified by the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office as Santos Ligues, succumbed to his injuries at Brooke Army Medical Center in the early morning of Aug. 3.
Investigators are looking further into the details of the commercial fire that ignited at the station at 5939 South Padre Island Drive.
Officers from the Corpus Christi Police Department responded to the call of a fire at 5:39 p.m., according to a departmental news release.
First responders arrived at 5:44 p.m. and found a vehicle and gas pumps engulfed in flames underneath one of the awnings and the injured man in the parking lot, Fire Chief Brandon Wade said.
The first crew of firefighters to arrive immediately tended to the injured man, while another pulled a hose line to extinguish the vehicle fire, he said.
Medics first took him to Bay Area Medical Center. However, an ambulance later transferred him to the hospital burn unit in San Antonio due to the severity of his burns, Perez said.
Perez said that the department collected statements from witnesses and spoke with the victim's family members at the end of last week and over the weekend to compile a report that explained the cause of the fire.
He said that the man's family is believed to be from San Antonio.
The Corpus Christi Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Corpus Christi Fire Department says gas station fire was intentional
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