Tiffin Fire Chief William Ennis said Nick Huston, a Clinton Township volunteer firefighter, was working in his garage when the blaze started.
“He was working on his motorcycle,” he said. “He spilled some gasoline, and then it ignited from a heating source in the garage.”
Ennis said everyone was out of the home when firefighters arrived on scene.
“Everybody got out OK, and nobody was injured,” he said. “It was a very fortunate day for us.”
Ennis said firefighters contained the fire to the garage and the door to the kitchen. The chief, who did not have a loss estimate Saturday afternoon, said the house has extensive smoke damage and little fire and heat damage.
The family, which was to stay with relatives for the night, will be able to save sentimental items, he said.
Ennis said firefighters raised the hood of the family’s Chevrolet Tahoe to extinguish the fire. The keys were in Huston’s house so he was unable to move the vehicle, the chief said.
“It was heavily damaged by the fire, too, the whole front end,” he said.
Ennis said firefighters were dispatched at 12:08 p.m. and had the fire knocked down in about 15 minutes. The fire was extinguished by 1:14 p.m., and crews spent two hours at the scene, he said.
Bascom firefighters also responded to the fire, which was near the intersection of South Sandusky and Ella streets.
