Car fire threatens garage but is quickly extinguished

Published Date

LACONIA — Firefighters from Laconia and Gilford quickly extinguished a fire on Darby Drive last night that threatened a stand-alone garage and the house that is four feet away.
Fire Chief Ken Erickson said the owner of 325 Darby Drive had just returned home from work at about 8:30 p.m. and was taking the trash out to the garage.
He said he noticed the engine of his SUV was on fire and quickly closed the garage door, preventing additional oxygen from getting into the garage.
The owner called 9-1-1 immediately and left the house.
Erickson said the first firefighters arrived and saw smoke and some flames coming from the garage. He said Lt. Lisa Baldini ran a hose line through the back door of the garage and extinguished the fire.
Erickson, who was still at the scene at press time, said the damage to the two cars and the garage was still unknown but complimented the homeowner on his quick thinking.
He said he was calling the owners of Briarcrest so they could arrange to have Darby Road treated because the water used to fight the fire was freezing on the street.