"Ferocious," wind-whipped flames consumed the garage and car within it of a Jacks Valley residence Tuesday morning.
Both East Fork and Carson City firefighters responded to the blaze at 3529 Silverado Drive at 9:39 a.m.
Crews quickly knocked down flames, preventing the fire from spreading to the house. They also treated owner Beth Leidich, who reportedly kept entering the residence, for minor smoke inhalation.
"I was doing laundry," said neighbor Sandy Goins, who lives two houses down. "I thought they were clouds at first, but when I came out, I saw the smoke and these raging, ferocious flames, and the fire department was already there."
Fearing the fire would spread, Goins rushed to the house between hers and Leidich's.
"I didn't know how the fire would react," she said.
"I was watching TV and suddenly heard pounding on the front door," recalled neighbor Tom High. "She said I better get my car out of the garage."
With the wind blowing hard, High said his neighbor was right to worry about the fire jumping to his garage.
"Luckily, the firefighters already were here and had a hose on it," he said. "But if there was nothing to stop it, she (Goins) potentially saved our lives."
Goins said Leidich was transferred to an ambulance nearby while rescue personnel searched for her three cats and two dogs.
"Beth's robe was burned and had a hole in it," Goins said.
East Fork Deputy Fire Chief Steve Eisele later ruled the fire an accident caused by the disposal of hot ashes from the fire place.
According to the Douglas County Assessor's Web site, Leidich purchased the home new from Syncon in 2003.
