Man Hurt Fighting Fire in His Garage

A 66-year-old man suffered smoke inhalation Monday morning while attempting to douse a car fire inside his garage, authorities said.

John T. Kolarik was treated at Los Robles Regional Medical Center and released after the 9 a.m. blaze at his home in the 2800 block of East Appalachian Court, said fire and hospital officials.

Kolarik had just parked his car in the small two-car garage when a fire broke out in the engine compartment, said county Battalion Fire Chief Mike Sidlinger.

The garage door was closed, and flames disabled the opener, Sidlinger said. So Kolarik ran into his house through a connecting door and snaked a garden hose into the garage, which he used to fight the fire.

When firefighters arrived, Kolarik was suffering shortness of breath and was taken by ambulance to the local hospital.

Sidlinger said one of the department’s new thermal imaging cameras was used during the blaze to determine how far into the walls the fire had spread.

“It’s like having X-ray vision,” he said.

Firefighters did not have to chop holes into the house to vent the fire, which probably saved the homeowner several thousand dollars, Sidlinger said. The blaze was doused in about 10 minutes and contained to the garage.

The damage to the garage and vehicle was about $60,000, he said.