Garage fire damages neighboring home in South Lebanon Township

Jan. 31--A garage fire in South Lebanon Township displaced two people in a neighboring home on Thursday afternoon.

The fire started in a detached garage behind a house at 1148 E. Old Cumberland St. just before 2 p.m. and quickly spread to an adjacent house located on Gross Street, filling it with smoke and melting its vinyl siding.

A man and woman living in a second floor apartment of that home escaped without serious injury. However, the man was being treated for smoke inhalation inside a First Aid and Safety Patrol ambulance at the scene, said Avon Fire Co. Capt. Brian Wallace. The couple's names were unavailable.

A fire marshal was called in to investigate the cause of the blaze and to file a report for insurance purposes, Wallace said. The cause was not immediately known, he said.

Jason Lutz, who lives with his father at 1148 E. Old Cumberland St. said he was working inside the garage and left briefly before the fire started. The single-story, concrete block structure is heated with a wood stove that Lutz installed two weeks ago, and he suspects it was to blame.

"I guess the wood stove overheated," Lutz said. "That's the only thing that was going. I was only gone about 10 minutes. It's my fault. I told my dad to keep an eye on it, but he didn't see anything."

The fire was reported by Ashley Lawrence of Lebanon, who called 911 after seeing smoke while driving by the Avon Playground, a couple of blocks west on South 14th Avenue.

"It was dark black smoke," Lawrence said as she stood across the street watching firefighters from several companies battle the smoky fire. "When I got here, I was still on the phone with 911 and just saw flames shooting up like crazy."

Lawrence said the couple in the house next to the garage were already outside when she arrived. But, she said, she helped another passerby rescue a cat and four kittens out of a home at 1150 E. Old Cumberland St., which is attached to Lutz's home and also was filling with smoke. A 12-year-old boy was also inside that house and escaped without harm, she said.

The boy and cats were inside a neighbor's house.

Lutz said he uses the garage as a wood shop. In addition to some tools, a computer and stereo, the only other thing inside of value was wood that he had just purchased for a kitchen remodeling project. No damage estimate was available.

The Red Cross was called because electricity to the damaged house on Gross Street was shut off as a precaution, and the couple will not be able to return until it is restored, Wallace said.

In addition to Avon, fire companies from Hebron, Friendship, Weavertown, Prescott, Goodwill and Keystone Hook and Ladder were dispatched. Fire police from several of those companies also assisted while traffic was blocked in the area for about two hours.

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