A detached garage at the David Branch, Sr. home at 307 North College was destroyed and his home six to eight feet away was damaged in an early Monday morning fire.
“When we got there, we had a fully involved unattached garage, but radiant heat was starting to cause the house to catch fire,” said Assistant Salem Fire Chief Bill Fulton. “The guys pulled a three-inch line and knocked the fire down on the house and in the corner where it was radiating from the garage and then went ahead and made quick knockdown on the garage itself.”
Fulton says a window broke on the southwest side of the home and there was considerable smoke damage in the home.
The Branch family discovered the fire in the garage when waking up. They were able to get out safely. The garage door was wired to the open position.
One of their two vehicles parked in front of the garage received radiant heat damage.
The Red Cross was called to assist the family due to the smoke damage that may make the home uninhabitable.
The fire call came in at 5:12 Monday morning. Firemen were on the scene for about an hour and a half. Odin provided mutual aid on the scene. Kell Firemen manned the Salem Fire Station in the event of another fire.
