A reported structure fire in Newcomerstown Thursday afternoon turned out to be a car fire inside a garage that the owner had mostly extinguished when firefighters arrived.
Assistant Fire Chief Ricky Patterson says the department got the call around 6:40pm from an address in the 17-thousand block of Starkey Hollow Road.
A gas can spilled in the trunk of a 2015 Chevy Impala. Patterson says the owner tried to clean it up with an electric spot cleaner but as soon as she turned it on it ignited the inside of the trunk. Damage was contained to the vehicle, but there was some smoke and heat damage to the garage. The woman reacted quickly, using a nearby garden hose to mostly put the blaze out and limit damage.
Patterson says the woman was treated on scene for superficial burns on her upper extremities. The car is a total loss. Newcomerstown firefighters were on scene for about an hour and a half.
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