Fire at Petty Enterprises UPDATE 3: hearing there was a fire at Petty Enterprises Wednesday afternoon, been told it was a small in the engine room, more info as it is found UPDATE: FOX8 WGHP reported today that a fire occured at the Petty Enterprises shop, two crewmembers injured, one mechanic was flown to Baptist Hospital in Winston Salem, NC with burns to hands and legs. The other employee was not injured as badly. Appears that gasoline was spilled while preparing the 44 car to load on the hauler, the spill entered a room that contained a hot water heater and ignited. Guil Rand Fire Dept responded(a few readers sent this info)(9-12-2001) UPDATE 2: Two employees were injured at Petty Enterprises Wednesday afternoon when vapors from a fuel spill were ignited in a storage area. The two men were loading a 55-gallon drum of racing fuel onto a truck when the drum was knocked over. One of the caps on the drum was either missing or loose, allowing the fuel to spill. Vapors drifted into an adjacent room where a pressure washer is kept. The vapors were ignited by a flame from the hot water heater that supplies the pressure washer with water. The identities of the two men were unavailable Wednesday night. Randolph County EMS responded to the accident. A helicopter from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center transported one of the men from the complex. Hussey said the man who was airlifted had received injuries to his leg and arm. The fire had been extinguished by the time firefighters arrived at the complex. He said a former Level Cross volunteer firefighter works at Petty Enterprises. Hussey said that man orchestrated the use of fire extinguishers and the cleanup of the spill.(Racing Extra)(9-13-2001) UPDATE 3: A small storage room located at the famed Petty Enterprises race shop caught on fire late Wednesday afternoon leaving two crew men with injuries and burns. The fire was believed to be caused when the two crew men, Mike Root and Rich Parks, were cleaning up a gasoline spill and a flash fire erupted. Root suffered second and third-degree burns to his arms and legs. He was taken to Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem to be treated for his injuries. Root was kept overnight where he remains in stable condition. Parks suffered a laceration to his head and a minor burn to his hands. He drove to High Point Regional Hospital where he was checked and released. The famed A-frame shop at Petty Enterprises suffered minimal damage. “Our thoughts and prayers are both with Mike and Rich this morning,” said Kyle Petty, who serves as the CEO of Petty Enterprises. “Things could have been a lot worse than they were, and we.re grateful that both are going to be ok.”(Williams Company PR)(9-14-2001)
