BEDFORD – Firefighters battled a garage fire early Saturday morning at the home of Jim and Rita Anderson at 5356 Leatherwood Road
The fire was reported at 4:24 a.m. Firefighters from Shawswick, Pleasant Run, Oolitic, and Carr Township battled the blaze.
The fire was reported after the family was woke by an explosion and found the garage which contained Jim’s workshop engulfed in flames.
“The garage or workshop was engulfed in flames when we arrived,” said Shawswick VFD Chief Bob Brown. “He lost his new pickup truck, all of his woodworking equipment, and a side-by-side. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.”
The Rita’s Decor which is part of the Country Neighbors Tour did not have a lot of damage, according to Chief Brown.
“There was a cracked window on the building from the intense heat of the fire,” added Chief Brown.
Firefighters not only battled the blaze but the cold weather and freezing conditions. The lines would freeze and had to be thawed and the area became a slippery mess from the water used to extinguish the blaze freezing.
“It was 9 degrees,” said Chief Brown. “It got icy and was had to use torches to thaw the lines. It was icy and slick.”
