Kevin Kerr
DUNCAN — Firefighters were dispatched to 1212 W. Main at around 8 p.m. on a report of a vehicle and structure fire.
The owner of the car, Kerwin Walls, said he was adding a fluid to fix his transmission and left the car running in the garage while he went inside to watch a movie. He came outside around an hour later to check on the vehicle and said he saw flames coming from underneath the hood.
“I’m glad I came out when I did to check on it,” Walls said.
Walls said he had just bought the car a month ago and noticed the transmission was slipping a little, so he was going to fill it up and try to fix it.
Assistant Fire Chief Bobby Biffle said it looked as if a liquid had dripped out onto the transmission and caught fire from the heat.
“The fire was coming up out of the shifter in the car,” Biffle said.
Even though the car was parked in the garage when the fire started, Biffle said there was no damage to the building. The fire had been contained entirely to the vehicle.
“That’s one thing about this, is that noone was hurt,” Biffle said. “They were very lucky.”
Walls said he was pretty sure the vehicle was a total loss, but he did find a moment to hit on a positive note.
“At least I kept the receipt,” Walls said.
