A California motorist who stopped at the C.V. Ridgley service station, 501 East Main Street for gas at 6:30 pm Thursday crashed his car into a gasoline pump, causing a $500 fire. Firemen said the automobile driven by Lloyd Heflin of Los Angeles apparently broke an electric wire when it bumped the pump and a spark set fire to the gasoline. Ridgley immediately closed a valve which shut off the gasoline line to the pump from an underground tank, and the fire was contained to the gasoline in the pump and the hose. The pump was described as a total loss.

(Extracted  from local newspapers and compiled by Harry Boyd, posted at http://www.marionfire.us )