3/13/2009
ERIN MATHEWS
Fire destroyed a garage at a rural Saline County home Friday afternoon, but was contained before it did much damage to a house.
Rural Fire District 1 Chief Rod Ade said the fire spread quickly after an acetylene torch in the garage exploded, and one corner of the house caught fire. Firefighters contained it before the house at 6896 Kansas Highway 4 sustained further damage.
The house was a rental property owned by Brian Keeler of Gypsum, Ade said. The two young men who live there were not at home when the blaze broke out. Ade said firefighters were at the scene about two hours.
Ade said the cause of the fire is under investigation, although it is not considered suspicious. A car inside the garage and many tools were also damaged, he said.
Westar Energy workers came to shut off power to the property, after the fire burned an electric wire that ran across the top of the garage, causing the wire to fall to the ground and spark, Ade said.