Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Firefighters separated the two vehicles, which were parked side-by-side next to the Rockford Arms apartments.
he charred remains of the van illustrate the extent of the blaze. Although authorities believe the fire started in the van, the cause was unknown as of press time.
On Sunday, April 24, on the corner of 4th Avenue North and 11th Street North in New Rockford, two vehicles caught fire in the parking lot of Rockford Arms apartments.
According to Brian Hopfauf, Assistant Fire Chief of the New Rockford Fire Department, the call came in at around 4:38 p.m.
Upon arrival, firefighters saw two vehicles engulfed in flames, which were parked next to each other and up against the building's west side.
Hopfauf said firefighters pulled one of the cars, a van, away from both the building and the other burning vehicle, an SUV. By the time firefighters could extinguish the flames, however, both cars had largely been destroyed.
No one was inside the parked vehicles when the fire began, and no injuries were reported.
The cause of the blaze is still unknown, but Hopfauf said the fire likely began in the van before spreading to the SUV parked next to it.
Despite the flames' proximity to the apartments, Hopfauf said a thermal camera indicated that too much heat hadn't been transferred to the building. Though had the building not been brick, things could have ended differently, he added.
Three engines and 11 firefighters responded to the scene, and were able to leave at approximately 5:16 p.m., just under 40 minutes after the call came in.
Hopfauf requests that, for future incidents, residents and onlookers refrain from approaching the scene in their vehicles or parking nearby.
"It's hard for us to get our work done if there's people in our way," he said.
