Moving Trailer Destroyed by Fire in the Parking Lot of the Pic-N-Pac

SAN ANGELO, TX — A moving trailer with a family’s contents for a home went up in smoke on the parking lot of the Pic-N-Pac Convenience Store just before 7 p.m.

According to Jose Rivera, Assistant Chief for the Grape Creek Volunteer Fire Department, his crews fought the fire for about 3.5 hours Sunday evening.

The trailer was a box trailer owned by a moving company. The trailer was being towed by a one-ton pickup from Odessa to Leander.

The movers told Rivera they stopped at the convenience store on U.S. 87 at FM 2105 for a pit stop and saw smoke billowing out of the trailer. The amount of smoke alarmed the movers, so they quickly backed the trailer away from the store and to a clear area. Then, they disconnected the pickup from the trailer and parked it a safe distance away. Rivera said their quick action likely saved much property, including the truck.

Rivera said the fire originated in the center of the trailer, inside the contents. The trailer contained every item you can think would fit into a home—furniture, bedding blankets, televisions, bicycles, toys, and etc.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Rivera said near the center of the trailer, there was electronic gear situated next to old magazines or paper and blankets. All of those items were highly combustible.

“There are many possibilities as to what the exact item was that caused the fire,” Rivera said.

The packed trailer was a challenge for the firefighters. In order to get to where the smoke and fire originated, everything had to be unloaded from the trailer. And everything seemed flammable, or was where the fire had already spread. “Clothes, blankets, paper. Everything smolders. It smoldered a long time,” Rivera said.

Rivera estimates the firefighters used over 2,500 gallons of water by 10:30 p.m. when the fire appeared to finally be extinguished.

The trailer was a 48-foot 2013 Red Box Cargo Trailer. It and its contents were a total loss, Rivera said.