Food truck that caught fire last licensed in 2013
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The food truck involved in a weekend fire that severely burned two employees and a customer was not licensed to operate in Marion County, according to a Marion County Health Department spokesman.
Curt Brantingham told 24-Hour News 8 that El Tacarajo was last licensed in 2013 but was given a closure notice last year after failing to respond to health department inspectors request to renew its license.
“We reached out to the operator but they did not respond to any of our attempts,” Brantingham said.
Brantingham said that a list of currently licensed food trucks is available on the Marion County Health Department’s website, and also noted that the food trucks should have a sticker present in the window indicating that the license is current.
Four people were hurt in the fire that erupted Saturday inside the food truck that was parked in the lot of the Pic-A-Part scrapyard on W. 16th Street. Two employees and two customers were initially reported as being injured.
Indianapolis Fire Department officials said they believe the fire started when workers turned off the generator to refill it. That’s when gasoline bubbled out and likely hit a nearby open flame on the grill, according to fire officials.
Two of the victims were working inside the food truck were taken to Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital in critical condition. One of the employees was 17-years-old, the other was 37-years-old. They are both Hispanic males.
The other victim transported to Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital in serious condition was a 52-year-old Hispanic male that was a customer standing at the ordering window. He was released from the hospital on Sunday.
The fourth victim was a 59-year-old Hispanic male that refused treatment for his injuries and left the scene.
Pic-A-Part has leased parking space to the food truck for several years. Once IFD arrived on the scene, the fire was under control in 10 minutes.
Investigators have ruled the cause of the fire to be accidental