Business

Lawn Service Destroyed After Trailer Burns on I-820

Ralph Sambrano said it would take about $5,000 to replace the equipment he lost

A Tarrant County man is working to rebuild his business after the trailer pulling all of his lawn equipment went up in flames along I-820 Friday night.

Ralph Sambrano started Sambrano Lawn Service in 2016. It took him four years to save up for the mowers, trimmers and weed eaters necessary to be in business.

The equipment, however, burned within minutes.

Sambrano said he believed it all started when he noticed something fly out of the window of a car one lane over.

"I saw a hand out of a window throw something and I see little sparks. That's how I knew it was a cigarette butt," Sambrano said.

It was a fleeting observation, but two more miles up the road Sambrano said drivers were honking at him. That's when he noticed flames and smoke coming from the trailer he was pulling.

"The flames, I'd have to say were about nine feet high," he said.

Sambrano pulled off the interstate while his wife called 911. With the little water he had with him, he was able to fight back flames enough to pull a gas can out of harm's way.

"It could've been worse. It could've cost a life," he said.

While fire crews were quick to arrive, they weren't there in time to save Sambrano's equipment. Two of his three lawn mowers are completely melted, along with several other pieces of equipment. He hoped the third was salvageable along with a riding mower, but those two pieces alone aren't enough to keep the business afloat.

What's destroyed wasn't covered by insurance, and Sambrano didn't get a description for the car from which the cigarette flew. While he works to figure out how he'll rebuild the company that took four years to create, he said he hoped drivers would be more careful with what they toss from their windows in the future.

"I just hope it don't happen to anyone else, you know. I lost everything I had," Sambrano said.

Friends have started a fundraiser to help Sambrano get back on his feet. He believes it will take $5,000 to replace the equipment necessary for running his business.

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