Lincoln Firefighters respond to a pair of blazes

Lincoln Fire Rescue responded to two structure fires in the space of three days last week.

At about 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning, the Fire Department responded to a vehicle and garage fire at the Nicolai residence on Nicolai Lane west of Lincoln.

"The truck caught the garage on fire," said Lincoln Fire Chief Zach Muse, who was first on the scene. "It appears to have started from the block heater. I don't know if it was faulty, but I'm pretty sure that's where it started."

Muse said the pickup truck, a mid 2000s Chevy Duramax, was completely destroyed, but they were able to save the contents of the garage.

He said the garage contained everything from a side-by-side and generator to a welding setup and jugs of gas. He added there is no doubt the fire would have been catastrophic had it reached those.

Muse credits the limited damage to the department's brush truck, which could cross the load-limited Dalton Mountain Road bridge. He said they were able to get two hoses going off the truck to knock the fire back and prevent it from spreading down from the eaves and attic of the garage.

The Departments large fire engine had to take the Herrin Lake detour, which delayed its arrival to the fire.

Three days earlier, at about 5 p.m. Jan. 5, the fire department responded to a fire at the Horner residence on North 2nd Street.

Muse said a defective chimney pipe allowed flames to get into the roof of the house, where it damaged the ridge pole and some trusses.

Assistant Fire Chief Derek Perez, a neighbor of the Horners, was the first to arrive, followed by Muse, who happened to be at the fire hall when the page went out. Using water extinguishers Muse and Perez set to work controlling the fire.

Muse said he went up on the roof, started soaking it and got the ridge cap off. Once the fire trucks showed up they were able to get it knocked down and limit the damage.

Muse said both fires saw good turnout, with about eight volunteer firefighters responding to each fire.