Food truck catches fire, injuring four

Four people were injured Tuesday afternoon near Drexel University's campus when a propane tank attached to a lunch truck caused a fire.

Three people inside of the food truck -- the owner, his wife, and his aunt -- were injured, and a Drexel student who happened to be standing near the cart at the time of the fire was knocked to the ground.

Captain Terry Greene, an assistant to the fire marshal at the Philadelphia Fire Department, said the flash fire was caused by a "leak in the propane tank connection aboard the lunch wagon."

"Propane collected along the bottom of the truck and eventually was ignited by an open flame in the cooking area," he said.

The rapid nature of the fire also caused what seemed like a miniature explosion inside the truck.

Theodore Karas, the truck's owner, as well as the Drexel student were taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The owner's wife, Theodora, and his aunt, Valentina, were taken to St. Agnes Medical Center for treatment.

Greene said that all those inside the truck at the time of the fire were being treated for first- and second-degree burns.

The owner's son, Stephanos, is a Drexel employee, and he was working in a basement laboratory across the street from his dad's truck when the fire broke out.

"My mom ran downstairs to tell me what happened," Stephanos said. "In the condition she was in, she shouldn't have been running like that."

Theodore has been operating his food vending truck in the same place for 18 years, his son said. The truck was located on South 32nd Street between Chestnut and Market streets -- an area where many food vending trucks have set up shop.

"He didn't smell any [gas]," Stephanos said of his father. "He's very safe. He never had this kind of problem, ever."

The truck itself did not suffer much damage, and Stephanos said the biggest loss would come from any spoiled food.

"But the truck -- that's superficial," he added. "Nothing compares to our lives."

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