Magic Wash Oil Exchange and Brakes Suffers Fire From Vehicle Electrical Malfunction

Only a couple of months after opening, Magic Wash Oil Exchange and Brakes in Newland, North Carolina, was hit with a fire sparked by an electrical malfunction while working on a vehicle.

The Avery Journal reported that around noon on April 1, while shop manager Charles Bailey was working on a vehicle, something went wrong as he was attempting to replace a fuse.

“All at once it just popped, sparked and exploded,” described Bailey.

A fire erupted, and soon spread to the shop’s roof, stretching from its oil bays down to the business’ adjacent car wash, damaging the structure. Bailey was the only one in the building at the time of the accident.

Several first responder teams arrived on site to quench the flames, including the Newland Fire Department, Crossnore Fire Department, Elk Park Fire Department, Linville Central Rescue Squad, Avery County Ladder Truck, and Avery County Emergency Management. Newland Police Department redirected traffic until the roadways were reopened around 2 p.m.

Avery Emergency Management Director and Avery Fire Marshal Paul Buchanan said that due to being a three-phase electrical system, many neighboring facilities were hit with power outages as a result of the fire, but electricity was soon restored after the flames were extinguished. 

Buchanan confirmed that the cause of the fire was an electrical malfunction in the vehicle being worked on.