Two structure fires Tuesday left a Clito area man without a home and destroyed a Greenbriar area garage — along with three vehicles.
Statesboro Fire Chief Dennis Merrifield said Wednesday firefighters responded to a Greenbriar Trail residence around 6:10 a.m. Tuesday to find a detached garage "fully engulfed" and the adjacent home on fire. Firefighters were able to save most of the home from damage, but a Cadillac Escalade and two other vehicles suffered extensive damage, he said.
Several aerosol cans inside the garage exploded in the blaze that is believed to have been caused by " improperly discarded ... cigarettes," he said.
Damages were estimated to be around $100,000, Merrifield said. There were four people inside the home — three tenants and a guest. No one was harmed, he said.
Neighbor Gary Dukes said he was awakened by explosions he learned later were paint cans exploding. He said he ran outside and to the front of his neighbors' home, concerned that the flames might be blocking the stairway, when he saw firefighters were already on the scene.
"I was shocked to find a blazing inferno towering higher than the pine trees," he said. Then, after seeing firefighters working to battle the blaze, he was impressed by their quick response.
"It was an incredibly fast response to a 911 call," he said. "It just astounded me they (emergency responders including EMS and police as well as firefighters) were that well trained and prepared."
A Mill Creek Road man was the victim of a mobile home fire around 5:44 p.m. Tuesday, said Clito Volunteer Fire Chief Tyler Thompson.
Terry McBride had just left home to go to work when the fire ignited, he said. No one was home, and the flames — ignited by an electrical shortage in an old fan left running —destroyed the home before firefighters from the Clito, Leefield and Brooklet volunteer fire stations arrived, he said.
The mobile home was gutted, he said.
Statesboro Fire Chief Dennis Merrifield said Wednesday firefighters responded to a Greenbriar Trail residence around 6:10 a.m. Tuesday to find a detached garage "fully engulfed" and the adjacent home on fire. Firefighters were able to save most of the home from damage, but a Cadillac Escalade and two other vehicles suffered extensive damage, he said.
Several aerosol cans inside the garage exploded in the blaze that is believed to have been caused by " improperly discarded ... cigarettes," he said.
Damages were estimated to be around $100,000, Merrifield said. There were four people inside the home — three tenants and a guest. No one was harmed, he said.
Neighbor Gary Dukes said he was awakened by explosions he learned later were paint cans exploding. He said he ran outside and to the front of his neighbors' home, concerned that the flames might be blocking the stairway, when he saw firefighters were already on the scene.
"I was shocked to find a blazing inferno towering higher than the pine trees," he said. Then, after seeing firefighters working to battle the blaze, he was impressed by their quick response.
"It was an incredibly fast response to a 911 call," he said. "It just astounded me they (emergency responders including EMS and police as well as firefighters) were that well trained and prepared."
A Mill Creek Road man was the victim of a mobile home fire around 5:44 p.m. Tuesday, said Clito Volunteer Fire Chief Tyler Thompson.
Terry McBride had just left home to go to work when the fire ignited, he said. No one was home, and the flames — ignited by an electrical shortage in an old fan left running —destroyed the home before firefighters from the Clito, Leefield and Brooklet volunteer fire stations arrived, he said.
The mobile home was gutted, he said.