Quick action limits fire damage in rural Hillsboro

GarageFireHoses984WEB  GarageFireRoof989WEB  A garage fire Wednesday afternoon (Oct. 12) on Limestone Road, rural Hillsboro, could have been a lot worse if not for the quick thinking of a UPS driver delivering a package.

Hillsboro Fire Chief Ben Steketee said he didn?t know the driver?s name, but he definitely deserved a ?big atta-boy? for his swift action in spotting the blaze, calling 911 and attempting to extinguish the fire until firefighters arrived.

?We received the 911 call at 3:17 p.m. and were at the scene by 3:24 p.m.,? Steketee said. ?After the UPS driver discovered the fire, he used buckets of water to try and put it out after being unable to find a hose.?

The owner of the house at 1762 Limestone is Gary Helmer, but Steketee said Brian Klenda is renting it from him.

?We suspect the fire was started by some electrical problem,? he said, ?and we noticed some arcing and disconnected the power to the structure.?

Damage to the garage was minimal, Steketee said.

?There is now a 3-foot hole in the garage roof where there was none before, and we removed a couple of sections of metal roof covering to check for fire extension, but it clearly could have been much worse,? he said.

In addition to Hillsboro firefighters, city and county police, emergency management and ambulance personnel also were at the scene.

Steketee said whenever there is a report of a structure fire, ?it?s all hands on deck,? regardless of how serious the caller believes it to be.

?We would much rather send units back than not have what or who we need in the beginning moments of the incident,? he said.

?Anytime there is smoke or fire, EMS is dispatched for firefighter care and law enforcement is always summoned — and welcomed — because we just never know what may be going on and sometimes crowd and traffic control is needed,? Steketee said.

No one was injured in the fire; additional details were unavailable.

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