Vancouver firefighters respond to garage fire

Vancouver firefighters and an investigator responded Sunday to a small fire in a home’s garage in the Proebstel area.

At about 7:40 p.m., crews were dispatched to a single-story, three-bedroom home at 19401 N.E. 63rd St. By the time firefighters arrived, a resident of the home had extinguished the flames with a hose, said Battalion Chief Kevin Griffee of the Vancouver Fire Department.

Firefighters stayed at the scene for a while to make sure the fire was out completely.

The fire did not appear to spread from the garage to the house, Griffee said.

Deputy Clark County Fire Marshal Curtis Eavenson said the fire was sparked accidentally, likely due the careless handling of a blowtorch.

The fire did about $3,000 in damage, including the contents and structure of the garage, he said, and was fairly localized to some drywall paneling.