FIRE DESTROYS
GARAGE AND DAMAGES HOME IN MARION CENTER, INDIANA.
AN ELECTRIC WIRING PROBLEM IS SUSPECTED OF STARTING THE FIRE.
January 14, 2015 10:59 AM
MARION CENTER — An electric wiring problem is suspected
of starting a fire that destroyed a wood-framed garage and scorched a nearby
house Tuesday afternoon along Oak Street, fire officials said.
The fire began just before 12:30 p.m. while workers were
repairing a vehicle in a large, one-car garage. The workers safely escaped the
fire and reported that they spotted flames on the wall some distance away from
a wood burner, a propane heater and power tools they were using, said Assistant
Chief Galen Moore, of the Marion Center fire department.
A volunteer firefighter, Gary Banks of the Marion Center
fire company, suffered an apparent second-degree burn on his shoulder while battling
the flames, Moore said. Banks was treated and released from Indiana Regional
Medical Center.
Moore said Jessica Kirkland owns the garage and has
insurance coverage on the loss.
The flames threatened Kirkland’s house.
“It was really close to the house, within about five
feet, and we did keep it from reaching the house,” Moore said. “It melted the
siding, but we had no water or heat damage inside the house.”
Moore said Marion Center’s water system doesn’t extend
as far as Kirkland’s property, and volunteer firefighters relied on shuttling
water in tanker trucks to the scene. Fire crews from Plumville, Commodore,
Clymer, Rossiter and Perry Township assisted.
The Indiana County rapid-intervention team and The
Salvation Army responded to the fire, and the Creekside, Cherryhill Township
and Rural Valley fire companies were placed on standby in area fire stations
while crews fought the fire.
Marion Center firemen were sent again just before 6 p.m.
to douse some flames when the rubble rekindled.