A Pacific Gas and Electric Co. mechanic suffered burns on his legs Monday afternoon when a fire started in the garage where he was working at the company's Santa Maria service center.

His name was not available.

Firefighters from the Santa Maria and Santa Barbara County fire departments responded around 4 p.m. Monday to the PG&E facility at 2445 Skyway Drive.

The fire, which sent smoke high into the air, was brought under control in about 10 minutes, said Santa Maria Battalion Chief Dan Orr.

The mechanic was doing repair work on the fuel tank of a service truck in the garage when the fire started, Orr said, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Orr said he believed the injured man suffered burns just to his calves. He was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

The blaze blackened the wooden ceiling of the garage and damaged the service truck.

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Orr said the fire was mostly concentrated on the contents of the garage, and had started to become a structure fire as it spread to the ceiling.

He said the garage stored such substances as gasoline and solvents, but the blaze did not release dangerous fumes into the air.

January 29, 2008