Circle K Gas Station Destroyed By Fire

The Circle K gas station went up in flames Monday afternoon, completely destroying the building.

Central County Fire and Rescue Assistant Fire Chief Steve Brown said his department received the call just after 2 p.m. that the convenience store at the intersection of Spencer Road and Mexico Road was on fire. Crews responded promptly and at 3 p.m. were still battling the blaze.

"First arriving crews got on the scene in just a couple of minutes and the building was already fully engulfed," Brown said.

Brown said no one was injured in the fire. 

"Everyone got out," Brown said. "And we've had no injuries to any fire fighters."

Brown said CCFR has already spoken to employees who were working at the time of the fire and the department has a pretty good idea of where the fire started. 

"They said a row of lights went out and they went to the store room to check on it," he said. "Whenever they did, they saw smoke in the storage room."

Just after 3 p.m. as Brown was talking the front part of the building, the area that displayed the Circle K logo, fell to the ground.

"It's a total loss at this time," Brown said. 

Despite being a fire at a gas station, Brown said the biggest worry was the building itself—as evidence by the falling mansard. He said the gas pumps has automatic shut-off switches which the employees shut off immediately. 

"All the propane is below ground so it's not coming out," Brown said. "The structural integrity of the building is our biggest concern."

Brown said this type of fire is a rarity for St. Peters. 

"I was actually running some statistical reports showing how low our commercial fire loss was," Brown said. "This kind of blows it for 2013."

Traffic on Mexico and Spencer was backed up. Drivers headed northbound on Spencer Road were re-routed via the strip mall and Phillip's 66 gas station. Drivers heading east on Mexico were using the Vanderbilt Apartments as a detour.