Firefighters save house after van catches fire in Marion

Marion firefighters quickly controlled a fire that was consuming a minivan Friday, before it spread to a nearby house.

No one was hurt when the van, parked in the driveway of 800 South Sixth St., caught fire around 9 a.m. Firefighters said it definitely had the potential to spread to a house just a few feet away.

"We had fire coming out of every window, shooting a good five or 10 feet above the van," Lt. Wade Markley said. "There was a thick column of black smoke. We could see it from several blocks away."

Crews used two fire hoses, one to put out the fire and another to protect the house. The blaze charred the entire van, but only caused slight damage to the siding on the house.

Markley said the residents of the house had just used the van to jump-start another vehicle. Officially, the cause was still under investigation.