Garage fire torches New Hope family's wheelchair-accessible van
NEW HOPE, Minn. — A garage fire in New Hope took much more than some old rakes and supplies. It torched an invaluable tool that the family desperately needs back.
Lucas Jacobson uses a wheelchair and inside the garage was his wheelchair-accessible van.
"We're very limited, so like today, we couldn't go anywhere," Lucas Jacobson said.
The fire happened early Saturday morning in the family's detached garage.
"It's devastating really. Especially seeing it out there," Lucas's mother Nikki Jacobson said.
The family woke up around 3:30 a.m. after a food delivery driver noticed flames and pounded on their door, alerting them of the fire.
"Just so thankful," Nikki Jacobson said.
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The fire didn't spread to any homes, but it burned everything in their garage, including valuable tools.
"Pretty much my husband's life. Because he's a tech ed shop teacher, so it's all tools, his dad's stuff he inherited," Nikki Jacobson said.
West Metro Fire District, which responded to the blaze, says cigarettes, battery chargers and extension cords are common causes of garage fires.
"Where it started, my husband has a couple of batteries in a power strip, so it could have been something to do with that," Nikki Jacobson said.
West Metro Fire District Deputy Fire Marshall Shelby Wolf says even storing batteries in buckets has caused garage fires in the past.
"You just shift the bucket around, that could be enough to give it a chemical chain reaction, so I highly recommend you tape off each one when you dispose of them," Wolf said.
The Jacobson's are counting their blessings as the community helps raise money for a new van.
"It really just makes you feel like the community came together in support, especially when you're not expecting it," Lucas Jacobson said.
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West Metro Fire says it's a good reminder for people to check out their own garages for fire hazards.
