A blaze ignited by a backfiring lawn tractor completely destroyed an attached garage in Addison March 28, but was stopped from consuming a ranch home.
At 12:42 p.m., Addison firefighters were dispatched to 3150 Honey Bee Lane (south of Lakeville Road and west of Hosner Road) to battle a structure fire.
‘When we got there the garage was fully involved and (the fire was) spreading into the house,? said Fire Chief George Spencer.
Addison’s first fire engine arrived on scene at 12:49 p.m. and the blaze was under control in 17 minutes.
While the garage was reduced to a smoking pile of charred rubble, the house suffered ‘heavy smoke damage and some fire damage? to the attic, hallway and ‘a little bit in the kitchen,? according to Spencer.
An estimated $80,000 in structural damage was sustained along with up to $40,000 in damaged contents.
Overall, the chief said it was good save. ‘The guys did a good job,? he said. ‘They really did.?
Firefighters were able to rescue one of the family’s three cats from the basement. Unfortunately, the other two felines did not survive.
Spencer said the blaze started in the garage while the homeowner was working on his lawn tractor.
‘He was trying to start it, get it ready for spring,? the chief said. ‘It wouldn’t start, so he sprayed some starting fluid into it. It backfired and set the lawn tractor on fire.?
The homeowner tried to extinguish the blaze with water from the house, but was unsuccessful.
Spencer said he also ‘tried to push it out of the garage,? but couldn’t move it.
Had the homeowner closed the door leading from the garage into the house, the fire would not have spread as much.
‘The garage door was left open, which let the fire feed right into the house,? Spencer said. ‘Instead of just burning in the garage, it was burning into the house and down the hallway and into the kitchen.?
When it comes to garage fires, the chief reminded residents to ‘close the doors on everything so the fire in the garage stays in the garage,? he noted.
‘If you leave it open, it’s going to get more air, it’s going to feed the fire better and it’s going to burn more,? Spencer explained. ‘It’s going to be in an advanced state when we arrive. So, it’s not a bad idea to close the door no matter what.?
Spencer also wished to remind residents, ‘If you’re going to do maintenance work on your stuff, take it outside and have a fire extinguisher available.?
‘If you’re going to work with something that is flammable or combustible such as starting fluid or gasoline, make sure you have a fire extinguisher available so if by chance it does light up, you can immediately put it out,? the chief said.
Fire extinguishers are ‘a dime a dozen,? so ‘if you don’t have one, we can help you get one,? Spencer added.
Addison was assisted by the Oxford and Oakland fire departments. ‘The departments work very well together as a team and they definitely got the job done.?