Fairfield firefighters extinguish garage fire

FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield Fire Department responded to a garage fire Tuesday afternoon.

The department received a call at 1:30 p.m. that a structure at 503 W. Grimes Ave. had caught fire. Firefighters responded and discovered a detached garage was on fire. They extinguished the blaze before it could damage the home, and returned to the station about an hour later.

Fairfield Fire Chief Scott Vaughan said the residents of the home were burning something in a fire pit behind the house. Wind from the south swept burning embers out of the pit and onto some loose leaves, which ignited combustible material between the fire pit and garage.

Vaughan said the damage was limited to the garage, which is separated from the home by about 4 feet. Vaughan said the firefighters sprayed the back side of the house to ensure the fire couldn’t spread to it.

“That’s called a water curtain, where we’re trying to take heat away from a nearby structure,” he said.

There were no injuries from the fire.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com