Home fire quickly extinguished thanks to passerby
Imperial County firefighters responded to a house fire in Imperial just shortly after 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
Crews were quickly notified thanks to a driver passing by who saw smoke and dialed 9-1-1.
News 11 was at the scene and has more on the cause of the fire.
“We responded out here, got on scene, myself and another chief officer and discover smoke coming from the garage,” said Danny Stauf, Battalion Chief with Imperial County Fire Department.
The smoke was coming from a family home on 265 La Paz Drive. Firefighters did locate a small fire in the garage which they were able to quickly put out.
“What it was, was an old portable fan that they were using to keep the K-9’s he had in the backyard cool so they can go in and out of the garage, lucky with the quick action of firefighters and the quick response, we were able to contain it to that small area, and minimal damage only to the fan and some plastic containers, but all in all everything else was ok in the house,” added Stauf
City of Imperial Animal Control was also called to the scene for precautionary measures.
“There are two dogs here at the residence and they didn’t know if they were going to be, if it was going to be necessary to take them away from the house, not knowing what going on with the fire,” said Stephanie Eaton, Animal Control Officer.
Both firefighters and animal control offered advice when it comes to pet owners trying to keep their animals cool when it’s hot.
“If you’re using a portable fan like that, make sure you’re not using extension cords to the fan, you’re actually plugging the fan directly into the outlet and making sure that outlet can accept the power to that fan,” explained Stauf
“We get kiddie pools, like the little plastic kiddie pools. You can get those, or if you can do misters, those are really great. Misters are probably the best thing,” added Eaton.
Both dogs were unharmed and animal control also suggested that homeowners may want to invest in a doggy door to help keep our furry friends cool.
