Taylorsville home saved from flames

German Township firefighters, assisted by Clifford and Columbus Township departments, were able to save a home in the 8500 block of North Farmstead Court when two vehicles caught fire in the driveway.

Firefighters were sent to 8554 Farmstead Court at 1:06 p.m. Thursday and found two vehicles in the home’s driveway on fire about 4 feet from the house, said Matt Lynch, chief of the German Township Fire Department. The ranch-style home is west of U.S. 31 in the Taylorsville area.

“My first priority was to keep the house from catching on fire so I instructed the initial crews to wet down the house, then focus their attention to the cars,” said Capt. Jake Goodin, incident commander. “I didn’t want the homeowner to not only lose two cars, but the house also.”

The homeowner told firefighters the family had just returned home in their sport-utility vehicle, and saw light smoke coming from the engine compartment, Lynch said. However, the family thought it was oil burning from a recent oil change.

After discovering the vehicle was on fire, the family called 911.

The SUV was parked behind another family vehicle, a four-door sedan.

About 2,000 gallons of water were used to put out the fire and seven fire trucks responded to the scene, including Clifford Fire Department’s tanker truck, which provided water at the scene.

Both vehicles were declared a total loss and several pieces of the home’s siding melted as a result of the fire, Lynch said.

No injuries were reported.