Garage Fire and Explosion Destroys Structure

Golden Valley Firefighters were dispatched to a structure fire at 1353 Don Luis Road Friday evening at 5:38 PM.  Responding units reported seeing heavy smoke from 6-miles away as they left the fire station.  The first fire engine arrived only 6-minutes after dispatch and reported heavy smoke coming from the garage. Inside were several thousand rounds of live ammunition, recreational vehicles and acetylene tanks.  Chief O’Donohue reports at least one firefighter being struck by a round of ammunition.  During extinguishment operations, the situation quickly turned even more dangerous when an acetylene tank ruptured, knocking at least one firefighter over and pushed one back into a tree from the blast concussion.  The blast pushed out walls and rained large chucks of burning debris on the surrounding area.  Firefighters continued to protect the home that was approximately 50 feet from the fully involved garage, saving the house from any fire damage.  The fire was declared “Under Control” 36-minutes after being dispatched, however firefighters continued to work under after 9:00 PM to assure there were no hot spots that would reignite later.  The owner reported that two large tortoises were in the garage at the time of the fire and perished.  The cause of the fire is under investigation by Golden Valley Fire District Fire Investigators.  A total of 12 firefighters responded to this fire and despite the explosion, there were no reported injuries to the occupant or firefighters.