NORTH FORK – An SUV parked in a driveway in the Teaford Lakes Meadow neighborhood was completely destroyed by fire in the early morning hours.
Shortly after midnight, firefighters were called out to reports of a vehicle fire on Moic Drive.
Ron Brix was just arriving home when the warning lights in his 2015 Subaru Forester came on and the car began smoking. Fluid was leaking out, and just as he pulled through the gate at the top of the driveway, the car caught fire. Ron was able to grab his wallet and cell phone before the SUV was fully engulfed.
Fortunately, he was some distance from the house when the fire started. Also fortunately, his son John-Mark is a firefighter and was immediately roused from sleep by his dad.
PCF John-Mark Brix with burned-out SUV
John-Mark is a Paid Call Firefighter at Station 11 in North Fork. He got into his gear and headed out to the driveway to do what he could until engines arrived.
The first unit at scene reported one SUV fully engulfed, with about 1/8 acre of vegetation involved.
A neighbor across the road had attempted to get water to fire, but the hose wasn’t long enough. With the gas tank and tires exploding on the SUV, that was likely a good thing, for his own safety.
Firefighters quickly doused the flames and prevented the fire from spreading to the surrounding trees and nearby homes.
Firefighters were released from the incident at 1:38 a.m., and the cause is under investigation.
