Man Allegedly Sparked Calif. Four-Alarm Auto Shop Fire

A man accused of lighting the firecracker that sparked a massive four-alarm fire at an Antioch auto shop Tuesday afternoon was identified by police as Pittsburg resident Rhanesh Reddy.

Investigators said Reddy lit an illegal firework shortly before 4 p.m. while two of his fellow employees at the Blue Star Tires shop on the Pittsburg-Antioch Highway painted used tires with a highly combustible slurry of black tar and gasoline, used to improve the tires' shine.

The spark from the firework ignited the slurry, injuring the two men working with it and starting a massive fire that required 20 fire crews and more than two hours to put out.

Reddy, 32, was wanted by Pittsburg police on driving warrants related to problems with his license, Pittsburg police Lt. Ron Raman said. Reddy was arrested and taken to the county jail in Martinez. Raman also said he doesn't believe Reddy had any criminal history.

It's not clear whether Reddy will be charged with a misdemeanor or a felony, or whether he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time he lit the firework, according to Contra Costa Fire District Capt. Robert Marshall.

"We weren't able to get into the structure last night because by the time the fire was out, it was too dark to go in there," Marshall said. "Investigators were down there again this morning finding out what they can."

The use of the gas and tar slurry is also a violation of fire codes, Marshall said, that could end up being considered a crime as well.

"There are 15 people in our fire prevention bureau, and none of us ever heard of this kind of operation going on before," Marshall said. "I don't know if this is an isolated thing or not."

The store owner told fire officials that the gas and tar slurry operation was common practice, Marshall said.

"We're going to be looking at tire shops now and seeing if they're doing this kind of operation from now on," Marshall said.

The two tire shop employees were the only people reported injured in the blaze.

The dollar value of the damage done by the flames hasn't been determined yet, but at least one tenant did work restoring classic cars and the damage could reach into almost a million dollars.

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