Neighbor helps quickly extinguish garage fire

A garage fire at the Hillsboro home of Jeremy Duerksen, quickly attacked by his neighbor and did little damage Monday evening.

Firefighters from Hillsboro, Marion, and Durham responded to the 7:49 p.m. fire but were beaten to the scene by neighbor Joe Alvarez.

Hillsboro fire chief Ben Steketee said firefighters found Alvarez on a stepladder with his head through the hatch and a garden hose in his hand.

The fire was touched off when a woodpile next to the detached garage caught on fire, Steketee said.

A reason the fire did so little damage was the time it happened, Steketee said.

“A lot of people are out walking around at that time of day,” he said.

The garage siding was discolored and some of the walls were warped. Some plywood had to be removed to make sure the fire was completely out.

“We did discover some charring of the 2x4s,” Steketee said.

Less than 5% of the building was damaged, he said.

Firefighters stayed at the scene long enough to make sure the fire didn’t rekindle.

“One thing I like to do with a structure fire like this is let it rest for a while and see what it’s going to do,” Steketee said.