Crime & Safety
Accidental Fire Scorches Garage, Portion of Neighbor's Home
Residents helped extinguish most of the fire before fire fighters arrived.
A fire that burned a garage and a portion of a neighboring house was ruled accidental by fire fighters Saturday night.
The fire was reported just before 7 p.m. in the 200 block of North Alta Vista.
No injuries were reported in the fire that reportedly started in the garage as the result of improperly discarding smoldering newspapers, which were reportedly used to start a barbecue, said Chief Chris Donovan of the
"Apparently they used some newspapers to start a barbecue on fire and then moved the newspapers that were still on fire in a trash can and covered it thinking it was going to put itself out," Donovan said. "They left it unattended and unfortunately the trash cans became on fire and it spread to their garage."
The owners had reportedly just moved in to the home and there was nothing in the garage that was lost in the fire, Donovan said.
The fire extended to a neighboring house to the south, causing some exterior damage to the wood siding and burned a wood fence. Residents began attacking the fire with garden hoses and extinguished most of the fire before authorities arrived. The fire was extinguished in about 30 minutes, Donovan said.
Damage is estimated at $20,000, Donovan said.
If you have any photos of the fire, upload them and share with the community.
