Car catches on fire in downtown Worthington (with video and photos)

• Car on fire

Car catches on fire

Talk about it

More...

• GALLERY: Car catches on fire in downtown Worthington

WORTHINGTON — The Worthington Fire Department responded to a car fire Friday morning along 10th Street.

Donna Dammer of Rushmore, along with her daughter, Amy, and granddaughter, Keiley, were parked near Mick’s Repair when their 1998 Dodge Stratus started smoking and eventually burst into flames.

Mick’s Repair employee Cory Probst smelled smoke and rushed to help the family get out of the car to safety. There were no injuries, and no damages other than the car. The flames, coming from the hood of the car, were put out and the vehicle was towed.

Probst said he was driving to work when he noticed the car smoking, which he attributed to overheating. He said he smelled plastic burning minutes later, so decided to check it out. It was then that he assisted the family in getting out to safety.

“It was burning pretty good,” Probst said. “I haven’t been really close to anything like that.”

Probst said he called the fire department when he realized the flames couldn’t be contained with a fire extinguisher. His father, Dan Probst, is a volunteer firefighter and ran the hose that extinguished the flames.

Probst said it was possibly started by an electric or fuel leak, adding that can happen with any type of vehicle.

Donna Dammer said she was in town for an 11 a.m. appointment with Graham Tire to get the car looked at.

Before the appointment, they parked the car to go to the store. They heard a “clanging noise” that was followed by smoke.

“The next thing I know there was more and more smoke coming out,” Dammer said. “(Probst) came over and said there were flames underneath, so then I got the baby out.”

While the Dammers are hoping their auto insurance will cover the cost of the car, they said the most important thing is that everyone is safe.

Tags: worthington, car, news