MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An auto shop employee suffered second- and third-degree burns after the Frayser business went up in flames early Wednesday morning.
It happened at the Big Sale Tire Shop around 1 a.m. on Frayser Boulevard just east of Overton Crossing.
A man who lives behind the business says he was sitting outside when hear a loud bang and felt the ground shake.
“I looked over, and I saw all the flames. I was worried about those trees catching on fire, because there isn’t nothing but woods over there,” he said.
WREG was told the fire was so big when firefighters arrived that they couldn’t even go inside because it was too dangerous.
Once the flames were under control, first responders discovered a worker inside. He was rushed to the hospital burn unit with 60 to 70 percent of his body burned.
A firefighter was also treated on the scene for heat exhaustion. No one else was injured.
After clearing the scene, authorities were forced to bulldoze what was left of the destroyed building.
Fire investigators said the blaze was caused by the careless use of smoking materials in the shop area.
