Flames erupted from the garage at David and Marty Meadows’ at 2601 S. State St. Monday evening. Swift response by the Iola and Allen County fire departments helped keep the family home from being consumed.
According to Marty Meadows, the family was sitting down to dinner when an audible popping noise could be heard from the direction of the garage. Her husband, David, immediately smelled smoke and saw flames coming from the structure.
“He said, ‘Oh my God, the garage is on fire’ and called 911,” Marty Meadows said. “While he was doing that I got the keys and moved the cars away. We are just so thankful that the house didn’t get burned up.”
The damage to the garage, swimming pool and hot tub was extensive as flames spread from the garage to the two other structures, melting them in the process. According to fire department officials an electrical short was suspected in starting the fire, though as of Monday evening nothing was being ruled out.
“The garage was gone the second a fire started in it,” Lt. Ryan Sell, Iola Fire Department, said. “An open air garage like that just breathes so well that any kind of fire is going to ignite and go crazy in there.”
Westar Energy was also on the scene attempting to help find the root cause of the fire. Sell speculated that two deep freezers in the garage might be at fault.
“With the heat the way it’s been, any appliances like that will probably be running constantly,” Sell said. “That kind of thing can put a lot of strain on electrical systems. Things like air conditioners running all night and stuff like this can be a big danger in this kind of weather.”
While no one was injured in the fire, the Meadows family is still taking stock of what they have and what they’ve lost.
“We are just so glad that everyone is OK,” Marty Meadows said. “We lost some things we enjoy a lot but we are still doing all right.”
