YAKIMA, Wash. -- The Yakima Fire Department was called to a vehicle fire on the 600 block of South 60th Avenue around 2:45pm this afternoon.
The vehicle fire was upgraded to a structure fire when firefighters got to the scene because the vehicle was in a garage connected to a duplex apartment.
Crews were able to put out the fire quickly and prevent it from spreading to the apartment.
Then fire crews entered the apartment and searched for occupants and fire
extension. All occupants had already exited the apartment and the fire had been
stopped at the garage. The neighboring apartment had also been evacuated.
One of the residents was trying to start his VW bus when he heard a big whoosh and saw the rear engine compartment had caught fire. He ran into the apartment and got his wife and child out. There were no injuries.
The cause of the fire is a mechanical failure in the fuel system if the VW bus. The fuel ignited when the man tried to start the VW bus.
The VW bus was a total loss and there was heavy damage to the garage. The apartment received heavy smoke damage. The estimated total of damages is about $30,000.
