Sunday morning fire destroys 2 sheds

By Bruce Whetten Douglas Dispatch Published/Last Modified on Monday, May 6, 2013 11:14 AM MDT

A fire Sunday morning destroyed two storage sheds but the quick action of a Douglas firefighter led to two homes being saved.

Lt. King drove by the area and saw the flames coming from the back of two residences. After radioing for backup he sprang into action quickly connecting one of the fire hoses to a nearby fire hydrant. He battled the blaze while waiting for the 14 other firefighters from the DFD and three additional trucks to arrive on the scene.

DFD Fire Chief Mario Novoa said witnesses in the two homes are reporting they heard an explosion seconds before seeing flames in their back yards.

Two storage sheds on two separate properties were completely destroyed in the blaze.

Dry drush, excess garbage in back of some of the vehicles in the back yard as well as around the shed created a cause for concern as the winds began to pick up.

The DFD managed to save the two homes the sheds were located on and Chief Novoa credits King for his prompt action.

We were very lucky the winds didnt kick the fire up to the homes, the chief said. We are definitely in our fire season.

The chief said its not sure what the explosion was adding it could have been aerosol cans or something in or around an old refrigerator. The chief and his investigators are trying to determine what was stored inside the two storage units but because everything is a total loss it may be difficult to determine.

Chief Novoa is encouraging Douglas residents to clear a 15-25 foot area around their home and keep it clean.

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Sunday morning fire destroys 2 sheds