Monday, March 9th, 2009
Garage destroyed in fire
By Shelley Grieshop
A garage was destroyed and a home damaged by fire Friday night along Parker Street in St. Marys.
The owner of the property, Doug Obringer, 409 Parker St., was home when the fire broke out and was able to escape without injury. A cause has not yet been determined. Firefighters were on the scene for approximately three hours.
The total damage estimate was placed at $23,500 to the detached single-car garage and its contents and $2,800 to the home's exterior walls.
Emergency dispatch received several 911 calls about the fire at 7:39 p.m. Fire trucks arrived on the scene 12 minutes later and found the garage fully engulfed by flames that were spreading to the two-story house, Fire Chief Chad Hicks said. An electric pole with a transformer mounted to it also was burning but later extinguished itself.
Several of the 911 calls reported explosions inside the garage prior to the arrival of firefighters. No explanation for the explosions was given.
Nineteen firefighters, four engine trucks and two support vehicles responded from the St. Marys Township Fire Department. Also on scene were a St. Marys Township deputy, St. Marys City Police Department, the city's electrical department and Dayton Power & Light.
