Fire Department

Investigators determined this fire was accidental and the result of spontaneous combustion of improperly discarded rags and paper towels used for staining.

Homeowners informed fire investigators that a building and design company had been working on the interior of their house and were staining wood earlier Monday. The rags used for the staining project had been discarded in a garbage bag and stowed in the garage, where they spontaneously combusted hours later, causing the fire that resulted in approximately $5,000-$8,000 in damages.

--PIO Cynthia Schuster

Smoke filled a west-side neighborhood overnight, leading firefighters to discover a fire inside a residential garage.

Engine Company 4 was initially dispatched to the intersection of Kendall Avenue and Allen Street following reports that the street was filled with smoke. After circling the block and finding no fire, the crew centered on the intersection, where smoke appeared to be most concentrated. They began searching on foot, and one firefighter ultimately discovered a garage on Allen Street with black smoke coming from the eaves.

Engine 4 summoned other firefighting crews to the address as they rang the doorbell of the residence to alert the homeowners that there was a fire in their garage. The residents retrieved a garage door opener and handed it to Engine 4. With an attack line ready, firefighters opened the garage door and knocked down the fire with approximately 50 gallons of water.

The fire did not extend outside of the garage or impact the nearby house. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Nobody was injured.