Officials: Minor injuries, two displaced after Adams Co. garage fire
A passerby captured dramatic video of an exploding propane tank as crews were called to the scene of a garage fire in Adams County Friday night.
According to Irishtown Fire Company, crews were called to the 100 block of Fish and Game Road in Oxford Township around 10:24 p.m. on Friday night for a report of a garage on fire.
Firefighters arrived and found a garage fully involved in fire, with fire having spread to multiple vehicles, according to the fire company.
Prior to the arrival of firefighters, a propane tank is believed to have exploded, said Irishtown Fire Company Assistant Chief Bryan Long. That scene was captured on video by Abigail Boblits, of Gettysburg, who happened upon the scene while out with her friends.
The sole injury from the fire was a minor burn to one of the occupants of the home, said Long. Both residents were displaced, due to damage to the home, but the fast actions of firefighters prevented significant damage to the home, Long said.
In an interview, Boblits told the Evening Sun she was with friends down the street, about to go bowling, when they saw volunteer firefighters responding down the road with lights on their vehicles.
As they went to see what was going on, Boblits and her friends saw the bright orange glow of the burning garage.
"The next thing we know, it's exploding," said Boblits.
Boblits, who is in a family full of firefighters, has seen fires before but had never seen anything like the explosion she and her friends witnessed.
"We just were not expecting that," said Boblits. The group turned around and headed back to the friend's house, where they watched firefighters work from a nearby field.
The fire was under control in roughly 45 minutes, Long said. About 40 firefighters assisted with the call.
The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, said Long, and a Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal is investigating the cause.
Long expressed his gratitude for the numerous mutual aid fire departments that assisted on the fire, including over 22 pieces of apparatus from York and Adams counties.
Assisting Irishtown Fire Company on the call included Alpha Fire Company of Littlestown, Southeastern Adams Volunteer Emergency Services, Hanover Area Fire & Rescue, Eastern Adams Regional Police, Community LifeTeam EMS, Biglerville Hose & Truck Company, Heidlersburg Area Volunteer Fire Company, Northeast Adams Fire & EMS, Pleasant Hill Volunteer Fire Company, United Hook & Ladder, and York Springs Fire Company.
Harrison Jones is the Hanover reporter for the Evening Sun. Reach him at hjones@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Hanover Evening Sun: Officials: Minor injuries, two displaced after Adams Co. garage fire
