(Added top photo 6:47 am, sent from Belvidere by anonymous contributor; photo below was added at 6:27 am – Wendy Hughes-Jelen photographed the smoke from High Point)
6:15 AM: On our way to the house fire call in the 5400 block of 23rd SW. If you’re hearing/seeing choppers, it’s TV. This is just east of Delridge, near/at the intersection with Brandon (map). 6:21 AM: Fire is “knocked down” per scanner – but the smoke could be seen from quite some distance, according to some of the people who’ve called (thanks!). 6:30 AM: “A large garage with vehicles inside” is what burned, according to SFD’s Helen Fitzpatrick, who says nobody was hurt – everybody got out of the adjacent house OK. 6:36 AM: Here’s what’s left of the garage, which is behind the house:
In case you wondered – this is NOT affecting traffic on Delridge, which is open and running just fine. 23rd is blocked, but it’s not a major through street at that point anyway. One wall of the garage is still smoldering. 7:02 AM: The media briefing at the scene (we’ll add that video when it’s back at HQ) has mostly reiterated what we’ve already reported – nobody home; contents of garage a loss (but exactly what was in there is still being sorted out). The family who lives there was home at the time and called in the fire. Investigators are working to find out how it started.
7:58 AM: The above video clip is Battalion Chief Jay Hagen, who spoke to media at the scene. Here’s also a short clip of firefighters still hosing off the smoldering garage:
11:25 AM UPDATE: No word yet on the fire’s cause.
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