ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Thursday marks 10 years since a massive explosion at a St. Augustine gas station.
The blast could be seen from 25 miles away. It happened when an above-ground storage tank overflowed.
The combination of the vapors and heat from a fuel delivery truck caused the blast. The truck driver was hurt in the initial blast but survived.
Now 10 years later, the family of one of the firefighters who responded to the blast is suing the fuel tank driver, his then-employer, and the owner of the former gas station.
The family says that fire is the reason he suffers from several neurological disorders, cannot walk on his own, and has trouble speaking.
The Riley family filed a lawsuit in March. His wife of 22 years, Lani, did not comment on the pending litigation.
The suit says Michael Riley was exposed to toxic fumes when he responded to the fire and that exposure led to his injuries. His wife said her husband’s decline has been difficult to watch.
“We cook his meals for him,” Lani said. “We have to help him eat, we have to help him use the restroom, we have to do physical therapy-type things with him.”
Life has been different for Michael Riley for the last five years. His wife and their son are his full-time caretakers
“Michael is such a sweetheart,” Lani said. “He devoted his life to other people. He just wanted to help other people, so how can you not repay that?”
Michael was a firefighter for more than 30 years, nearly eight of them were with the St. Augustine Fire Department. His career ended in August 2016.
I spoke with the family of a former firefighter who responded that day. It’s suing the fuel tank driver, the tank carrier company and the former gas station. The suit claims Michael Riley’s current health condition is due to him being exposed to toxic fumes from that day. @wjxt4 pic.twitter.com/FgVAhpe7Nw
— Aaron Farrar (@aaronfarrarNews) August 19, 2021
“Sometimes there’s a new Michael,” Lani said. “We wake up and he’s lost a level of what he used to be able to do. We just deal with it until the next decline comes.”
Lani says Michael was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, Encephalopathy, and Parkinsonism in 2016 and he could not work anymore.
The St. Augustine Fire Department still treats Michael as a member of the crew, checking in on him and hosting him for special outings before the pandemic, but Michael’s health is quickly deteriorating.
Lani said it is hard to watch but memories of how Michael served as a firefighter to help others and love keeps her going.
“Firefighters are not disposable,” Lani said. “When something happens to them, we should not turn our back and pretend like we don’t see it. If they get sick and they get hurt, we know that they are always going to be there for us. It just feels like we should be the same we should be there for them.”
News4Jax reached out to attorneys representing the tank carrier company Florida Rock and Tank Lines, and the former truck driver. They say they cannot comment because the lawsuit is active.
REALTED: Charge dismissed against driver in gas station explosion
News4Jax is still waiting to hear back from the gas station’s legal team.
Both companies were cited by OSHA in 2012 for the explosion. The agency found the gas station and Florida Rock and Tank Lines refilled the above-ground storage tank even though the fuel level gauge did not work.
In 2015, the gas station won $800,000 in damages after it sued Florida Rock and Tank Lines.
A civil jury said the driver parked too close to the storage tanks, failed to check how much he could fill the tanks, and did not stay close enough to the shut-off valves.