CALCUTTA - A garage fire Monday evening at Turkana Farms was not nearly as bad as it could have been thanks to an observant neighbor, according to fire officials.
A neighbor's son noticed smoke coming from the garage of Donald Thompson, 49167 Eagle Drive, and called 911 after being unable to reach the Thompsons, who were not home. Calcutta, Glenmoor and Liverpool Township units were alerted at 6:22 p.m. and arrived on the scene to find smoke coming from the garage but no way to enter the locked doors.
Firefighters were forced to remove the entire garage door to gain entry, according to Calcutta Chief Scott Smith.
Article Photos
Area fireifghters examine an article pulled from a garage on Eagle Drive that caught on fire Monday evening. (Photo by Jo Ann Bobby-Gilbert)
Inside, they found a small fire that was contained to one garage wall and some items that were sitting nearby, including a wooden bench in the corner, which had caught fire and burned up the wall.
The blaze was extinguished quickly, and Smith said there wasn't much fire damage to the garage, which did sustain heavy smoke damage. The interior of the home also sustained some light smoke damage, and an adjacent neighbor complained of some smoke but managed to clear it without the fire department's assistance.
A car inside the Thompsons' garage also was damaged by heat from the fire.
"The neighbor noticed smoke and called us. If not for that, it could've gotten a lot worse," Smith said.
The cause of the fire remained undetermined Monday night.
Smith said the home is insured.
