JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville woman is on the verge of re-opening her food truck after a devastating fire almost two years ago.
It destroyed her truck and left her with severe injuries.
Anna Coleman is devoted to the work she does in her food truck. It is called My V Spot Restaurant, where she serves vegan food. Coleman opened up shop in May 2021.
But what happened just two months later changed everything. There was a devastating fire on July 25, 2021.
“I had the door closed, the window was closed,” Coleman said while explaining how the fire started. “So, there was a gas coming into the trailer. [With] me not being well-educated, once I lit the pilot, explosion. Gas explosion.”
Coleman ran to put out the flames to prevent more explosions and further damage in the Jacksonville Farmer’s Market parking lot where her truck was parked. She did not realize she was on fire.
“There was a guy out in the parking lot. He was like just drop on the ground and roll. Once I did that, that’s when I realized I was on fire. The skin was just falling off,” said Coleman.
The fire left Coleman with second- and third-degree burns all over her body.
“[Burns] on my face, my neck, my arms were burned the worst,” Coleman said. “Both of my knees and the back of both of my ankles are burned.”
She spent two months in the burn unit at UF Health Gainesville followed by a year of rehab.
“I had to relearn how to walk. I had to move my body in different ways. Things you just take for granted and just do, I could not do,” Coleman said.
Although she is still healing mentally and physically with more surgeries in the future, Coleman’s truck is refurbished and ready to reopen for business. That’s what Coleman wants to do.
“I am ready to get back out there because this is my passion,” Coleman said. “I want to be able to serve Jacksonville and surrounding areas.”
Coleman’s food truck is having its grand reopening March 18 at 2:30 p.m. in the Jacksonville Farmer’s Market parking lot on W. Beaver Street.
Coleman wants people to learn from her mistake. When cooking with gas in an enclosed space, she said, make sure there is ventilation, including having windows and doors open. Consider investing in a gas sensor.