Ceres garage fire called in by passer-by

A neighbor passing by on the way to work Thanksgiving Day alerted authorities to a garage fire in Ceres early Thursday.

The Ceres Fire Department received a call at 5:27 a.m. about a fire in the 1200 block of Bystrum Road. Firefighters arrived to find a detached garage ablaze in the backyard of a residence. Crews from two engines and a truck from the Ceres Fire Department and an engine and a truck from Modesto’s department battled the blaze for about 30 minutes before it was under control, said Ceres Fire Battalion Chief Michael Lillie.

The residents, an elderly couple, were not aware of the fire when crews arrived. No one was injured and the fire did not spread to the house, though it did damage an electrical feed going into the home. Lillie estimated damage on the garage, which was a total loss, to be about $10,000 for the structure. The owner of the property used the garage to store materials for his rental business, but an estimate on those losses was not available.

The cause of the fire was not known and was under investigation. Lillie said the fire was called in to the department by a passer-by heading to work on the holiday.

This story was originally published November 27, 2014 at 4:53 PM with the headline "Ceres garage fire called in by passer-by."