Bartholomew deputy douses home deck fire

A Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputy extinguished a fire burning on a home’s deck  while firefighters were still enroute to the scene Monday afternoon.

Capt. Mike Wilson with the Columbus Fire Department says that the call went out from dispatchers after a resident at a home in the 6000 block of Prairie Stream Way smelled smoke and noticed the fire on the deck at about 3:55 p.m. Monday afternoon.

Deputy Sgt. Andrew Dougan was in the area and was first on the scene. He first tried to put out the burning deck with a fire extinguisher but when that was ineffective, he switched to a garden hose. When firefighters arrived, Dougan had the fire knocked down and was dousing the still-smoldering deck, Wilson said.

The witness said that he had been smoking a cigarette on the deck and threw it down when he was finished, thinking it was out. But investigators say it ignited the deck, completely burning through part of the surface about two feet from the home.

Wilson said damages are estimated at about $500 and no one was injured.