More than 35 firefighters respond to garage fire
COLUMBIA — A garage fire demanded the attention of more than 35 area firefighters on Saturday afternoon.
Josh Creamer, a lieutenant with the Boone County Fire Protection District, said the department received a call around 3:05 p.m. for what was initially thought to be a commercial structure fire at 7555 Fall Creek Drive.
Creamer said the fire was more difficult to handle than a standard house fire.
“Houses are more compartmentalized,” he said. “The problem with a garage or barn is it’s one big open room so it’s harder to contain and extinguish.”
He said that parts of the roof had fallen while firefighters were attempting to extinguish the fire and that the situation had progressed considerably from the time the units arrived on the scene.
Creamer said it was unknown what started the fire, whether there were injuries or how much damage was done to the building.
He estimated that 750 to 1,000 gallons of water per minute, which was being shuttled in by fire trucks, were being used to extinguish the fire.
It is not certain what was inside the building, but Creamer said an RV was reportedly inside when the department got the initial call.
“We really have no idea at this point, but things you would normally expect to find inside a garage — propane cylinders, gas cylinders — are most likely in there,” he said.
The structure is under Boone County jurisdiction, but Columbia Fire Department units responded to the scene as well, Creamer said.