Man Says His Car Helped Cause Gas Station Fire

An official cause of the fire has yet to be reported. But Paul Bilhuber, of Ridgewood Road, knows what happened when the fire broke out around 10 a.m. He was in the building and, he said, the fire started in his 1996 Bentley Turbo R.

"I just came in to get my fuel filter and my fuel pump fixed," he said in the parking lot adjacent to the gas station Friday morning.

He frequently goes to the station for routine maintenance, and Thursday was one of those days. He asked the mechanic to change the fuel pump while he changed the filter. During that process, the gas line cracked, spilling gas on the floor, he said. The gas mixed with the oil on the floor.

The mechanic slipped and fell onto his back. As he fell, Bilhuber said, his inspection light fell to the floor, the light bulb broke and the broken bulb lit the gas on the floor.

The gas erupted into flames and Bilhuber said one of the other workers saved the mechanic's life by extinguishing the flames on him. The mechanic was taken to the hospital, but is now home with only minor injuries to his hands.

"It was unbelievably fast," he said of the speed of the fire. "It was like a cartoon. It couldn't have been scripted."

The fire was so hot it melted the aluminum off his Bentley, Bilhuber said. "The engine was made of aluminum," he said. "It turned to liquid." A total of 11 cars were damaged because of the fire, including the three inside and the eight parked outside.

As for the explosions people reported hearing, he said there were tires and aerosol cans popping. But he also said there was a fresh tank of gas used for welding that probably exploded.

"It's very fortunate only one person had minor injuries," he said. "I am just very glad that no one was seriously injured during the mishap. All things have a price and money is only money. Life itself is priceless, short, and you only have one and I am thankful no life was lost."

Bilhuber called the mechanics at the service station the best. "They can make anything work," he said. "They always solve problems."

Now he's left to find another Rolls Royce-era Bentley, which were only built before 2000. His car cost him $210,000 when he bought it. Today it would be worth more than $300,000, he said. There were only 240 cars like it constructed, and it was black with a tan leather interior. "It's not just a car," he said.

And people have been offering their condolences to him since Thursday's fire. "It was a joy every day. It's a real loss," he said.

Workers from the service station were also at the scene on Friday, but they declined to comment for this story. But they are receiving offers of support from locals.

Ken Hart, who owns Hart & Sons, said he has a building off of Route 22 he offered the owner to use until they can rebuild the station. Hart lives off of Ridgewood Road and builds homes in Short Hills. "I'm trying to be neighborly," he said.