PHOENIX — Last month, a massive fire broke out near Sky Harbor Airport at a propane facility. The fire also spread to a nearby airport parking lot and destroyed dozens of cars. One of the car’s owners is speaking out saying many car owners are still waiting for answers while left without a vehicle.
“It’s just ashes and wire,” said Kimberly Sparkman.
Kimberly Sparkman described the current state of her car. It was a 2002 Chevy Tahoe filled with memories that she and her husband had parked at Sundance Airport Parking before a vacation.
When they landed back in Phoenix, they found their car at the center of an apocalyptic scene.
“It's completely incinerated. There's no tires, there's no nothing,” Sparkman said. “My radiator is melted in a puddle on the ground.”
On July 20 while Sparkman was gone, a massive fire broke out at Bill’s Propane Service. It sent propane tanks flying hundreds of feet into the air and engulfed dozens of cars at the nearby parking lot.
Sparkman said she did not find out about what happened until she landed and got onto a shuttle on July 25.
“We told him our car was at the Sundance parking lot and he went, ‘Ooh, has anybody talked to you?’ And we're saying, ‘No, nobody said anything to us,’” Sparkman said.
Sparkman said they were taken to a different parking lot where an employee was waiting.
“That lady asked me what's your name and told us how much,” Sparkman said.
They paid $58 and were taken to their charred car.
“It's adding insult to injury,” Sparkman said.
They live three hours away and had to wait for a relative to pick them up. They took a rideshare to a nearby mall so they could wait in the air conditioning with all of their luggage.
Over a month later, Sparkman said her car is still there. She had liability insurance on her vehicle, not comprehensive, so she and other drivers are waiting for answers from the two companies involved – Sundance Airport Parking and Bill’s Propane Service, which is operated by Canyon State Propane.
Sparkman said she and other owners of the vehicles that caught fire have created a Facebook group to stay connected and update each other with any developments.
“I am getting absolutely nothing from anybody. So it's just been a month of reaching out, reaching out, reaching out and just getting zero response,” Sparkman said.
This week, Sparkman said she did hear from Sundance, but instead of an update, she said they told her she needed to get her burned car towed out of their parking lot.
“I can't possibly imagine why I should do any of this,” Sparkman said.
12News reached out to Sundance asking if they planned to refund customers who paid for parking and how the liability is being handled.
In an email, an employee said, “We have followed the direction of our insurance company and of the fire investigator. Every customer has been provided with their contact information and instructed to reach out to them. How we proceed during this difficult time is between us and our insurance company.”
12News reached Canyon State Propane over the phone.
“We’re not at liberty to discuss anything. It’s still under investigation,” the employee said. “No comment ma’am. Please give us our privacy while we continue to look through this.”
While the companies continue to work through this case, dozens of drivers are still left without cars and answers.
“I understand the investigation takes time, but in the meantime, life is progressing and 30 people are out a vehicle right now,” Sparkman said. “So I'm just hoping that they will start taking care of the people who lost their vehicles.”
A spokesperson for Arizona’s Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions said if anyone is having trouble navigating insurance claims or needs help getting answers from an insurance company, reach out to their office and file a complaint.
They can be reached at 602-364-2499.
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.