Feb. 20--A fire that began in a garage tore through three apartments in Windsor Township Sunday afternoon, displacing several residents and causing two minor injuries, according to a fire official.
Alfred D'Angelo, 54, who lives at 439 Garden Court at Windsor Commons, said that just before noon, he was working on his 2001 Audi Quattro inside a garage in the rear basement of his apartment.
The car had been having electrical problems, D'Angelo said. While he was working on it, there was "a real massive spark" that ignited part of the car, he said.
He left the garage to get water to extinguish the growing fire, but by the time he returned, it had covered the car's front end. The water he sprayed from a 2-liter bottle had no effect on it, he said.
"I had to knock on doors to get these people out of here," he said, referring to his neighbors. "I went into my house and called 911."
D'Angelo suffered a minor burn to his left hand and singed the right side of his head fighting the fire.
Firefighters were called to the blaze at 12:07 p.m. and fought it from inside and outside, aid Yoe Fire Company Assistant Chief Grant Gouker.
The fire ended up going to three alarms -- meaning more fire companies were called to help -- because more manpower was needed, he said. It took about an hour for crews to bring it under control.
Two factors worked in firefighters' favor, Gouker said: The above-freezing temperatures and the homes' firewalls.
Although the fire spread from 439 to the units on either side of it -- 437 and 441 -- the walls prevented it from spreading further, he said.
"The firewalls did their job to help us today," he said.
Gouker said one firefighter suffered a cut to a finger while fighting the blaze.
Residents who lived in 437 and 429 were displaced; 441 was unoccupied, Gouker said. Besides D'Angelo, he wasn't sure how many residents were displaced.
A truck from the American Red Cross provided food and drink to firefighters, and members were checking to see if any displaced residents needed food, shelter or clothing.
Gouker did not have a damage estimate Sunday afternoon.
Copyright 2012 - York Daily Record, Pa.
