Vehicle Fire Spreads to Second Vehicle and Nearby House

On Thursday, August 14, Franklin Township Volunteer Firefighters received a call at 11:47 am in regard to a vehicle fire at 10172 SR-160. Dispatch informed emergency responders that a vehicle had caught on fire, and that it had spread to another vehicle nearby and had begun to spread to a house just a few feet away.

Upon the arrival of the Washington County Times, both vehicles, parked side-by-side, could be seen with major fire damage. Additionally, melted siding on the corner of the house near the vehicles could be seen. At this point, the Franklin Firefighters had extinguished the majority of the flames, but both cars were still smoking heavily. Members of the fire department were using a rescue power saw to cut open the hood of one of the vehicles in order to further gain access to the interior of the car and properly extinguish any flames that were left.

An additional cause for concern was the large propane tank, appearing to be approximately 500 gallons, that sat just a few feet away from the flames.

“No one really knows how the fire got started,” said Franklin Fire Chief Tim Branaman. “Both cars were damaged along with the corner of the house here. The second car wasn’t involved at first, but it ended up spreading to it as well as the house.”

Although property damage did occur, no one was injured thanks to the quick response of the Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Department.