Two fires in two cities this weekend destroyed two attached garages.
A fire Sunday morning turned a detached Omaha garage into a pile of rubble. Firefighters battled the blaze near 15th and Fowler, a block north of Ames. The cause remains under investigation.
An unattached garage was also destroyed in Lincoln. This fire was caused by a teenager playing with a lighter.
When crews arrived at 235 North 25th Street around 5:20 p.m. Saturday, the garage was engulfed in flames. LFD investigator Roger Chapp determined the flames started from a pencil that had been lit on fire. Chapp said a 16-year-old was in the garage and found the lighter. When the teen thought the pencil was out, he threw it into a box, which then caught fire.
The garage was a total loss, an estimated $25,000 in damage.
Chapp said the teen confessed and was remorseful, so he was not cited. Instead, the boy will take a fire prevention class to learn about fire safety.
