Firefighters extinguish garage blaze caused by box fire

Columbus firefighters battled a blaze in a garage Tuesday evening, sparked by a cardboard box put down on a hot stove.

According to reports from the Columbus Fire Department, crews were called to a residential fire in the 2000 block of Sumpter Trail at about 6:54 p.m. in the evening. Firefighters found smoke coming from the home’s attached garage and the homeowner told firefighters that everyone had been evacuated.

Firefighters found burning material in the garage near the entrance door into the home and quickly put it out with water.

The homeowner told the firefighters that he grabbed the box off the stove when it began burning and tried to take it to the garage, but had to drop it when the flames grew too intense. The burning box then ignited other material in the garage. The homeowner and a neighbor tried to put out the fire with a dry chemical fire extinguisher.

The fire did not extend past the garage, firefighters said. Damages were estimated at $10,000.

Photo courtesy of Columbus Fire Department.