Nearby firefighters extinguish car fire on 29th Street NE

Living just down the street from a fire station paid off for a couple young men Monday morning.

Firefighters quickly extinguished a car that had caught fire inside a garage at 630 29th St. NE. Four people safely got out of the house and garage, and fire damage was contained to the vehicle.

Charles Crawley, 24, who rents the house, said he tried to start his girlfriend's Chevrolet Impala inside the garage just before 7:40 a.m., and heard a pop. Soon, smoke was coming out from under the hood. When he opened it, he saw flames coming from the engine compartment.

Crawley said he tried to put out the fire with a bucket of water and a fire extinguisher while his friend was calling 911, but it didn't work. Luckily, Fire Station No. 7 was only a few blocks away.

Battalion Chief Dave Brown said little smoke got inside the house and the tenants would not be displaced.

An investigation was under way to determine why the fire started. Crawley said he had to jump the car Sunday evening.

The fire shut down 29th Street NE for almost an hour, due to emergency vehicles in the street.