Fire at TRPA building sends one to burn unit at UC Davis

STATELINE, Nev. - A man was severely burned Wednesday afternoon as he worked on a vehicle in a leased space on the bottom floor of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) building off of Kingsbury Grade.

There was an initial explosion which caused the fire. The unidentified man suffered serious burns to his head, face and arms. He was flown to the UC Davis Burn Center.

The cause is still under investigation for the afternoon incident, but fire officials do know that the man was working on a fueled vehicle. He was able to get out of the building on his own.

All six heads of the sprinkler system were discharged as they should, suppressing the fire, according to Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District Fire Marshal Eric Guevin.

TRPA employees upstairs were evacuated during the fire, but no other parts of the building were damaged according to a spokesman. They will reopen on Thursday.

Guevin did not disclose what business the victim worked for but did say it was a leased suite/bay underneath the TRPA offices. The suite suffered smoke damage.