A MECHANIC has recalled the moment a diesel tank exploded, sending a river of fire towards him.

Andy Bridewell, who has worked as a mechanic for Colchester cab firm Hawaii Five-O for almost a decade, tried to battle the inferno with a hose.

He drove his burning car away from the garage on Colchester’s Whitehall Industrial Estate so it would not add to the mayhem.

He recalled how he was working in his garage unit next door to RA Autos, where the fire started, when he heard a panicked shout.

Mr Bridewell said: “Ray McThail’s [the owner of RA Autos] wife came running in asking if she could borrow a fire extinguisher. I gave them two and took up a large carbon dioxide extinguisher I also had.

“I then saw what was happening and got the fire hose and started to hose down the interior of the workshop. It became pretty obvious that wasn’t working, and the place was full of smoke.

“I then heard Ray shout the tyres were alight and turned the hose on them, but it was equally evident that wasn’t go to work.”

When the firefighters arrived, Mr Bridewell grabbed the hose again and followed them back into the yard but the situation escalated.

He continued: “The next thing I knew, there was a large explosion and the diesel tank went up.

“The diesel flooded down the road like a river of fire. It engulfed everything in flames. That was when I saw my car alight outside my garage, about 150 yards away.

“That was the last place I saw my wife, so I assumed she was inside. Against orders from firefighters and threats of arrest from the police, I ran into the building to save her, but she had fortunately left.

“The garage was empty of people, there was just my car burning in the doorway. I jumped in and backed it down the road while it was on fire, so it could burn itself out away from the garage.”

As the fire continued to engulf everything in flames, Mr Bridewell said his only moment of real fear came when he saw a large tank full of LPG gas alight.

He said: “Firefighters had hoses permanently on it, trying to stop it exploding. If that had gone up, that would have been the end of the Whitehall Industrial Estate. The whole thing looked like a scene from Beirut.”

Mr Bridewell is a reluctant hero though, instead heaping praise upon the emergency services.

He said: “It wasn’t just me, Simon, from Mainly Mercs, helped just as much. It was a very serious incident, but if it hadn’t been for the skills of the firefighters, police, ambulance crews and all the emergency services, it would have been a lot worse. There would have been more casualties and more damage.

“I know the injured firefighter, I went to school with him, and my thoughts are with him and his family and I hope he makes a full recovery.”

Christie Wettasinghe, boss of cab company Hawaii Five-O, said: “Andy is very, very, dedicated. He got stuff out of the garage and saved some of the cars, otherwise they would have all have gone.”

Mr Bridewell was eventually taken to hospital suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation, where he stayed overnight.

For full story and pics see today's Gazette