Fire results in $175,000 damage to East El Paso home

El Paso fire fighters found themselves fighting another big fire on Tuesday, for the second day in a row.

The latest was in East El Paso on the 8500 block of Moye Drive, just down the street from Cielo Vista Mall and the Fountains at Farah.

ABC-7 was at the scene and according to fire officials, the fire started just after 1 p.m in the garage.

After Monday’s tragic fire that killed three in East El Paso, no one was injured in this fire, although there were people inside.

Fire officials told us those three people, two women and a man, were able to get out of the home before the fire spread, damaging 50-percent of the home.

The first fire unit was on scene within four minutes and the fire was under control about a half hour later. Two vehicles inside the garage were badly burned and two vehicles in the driveway were also damaged. Damage is estimated at $175,000.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, although fire officials said it did originate in the garage. There was a scanner report of a suspicious man in pajamas seen roaming the area about the time the fire started. But fire officials told ABC-7 there was no indication of arson.

ABC-7 spoke with a man who resides in the area and was the first to spot the fire and call 9-1-1.

“I was driving by and I noticed like smoke going up in the air,” said neighbor Andrew Noaker. “It wasn’t like a white smoke, it was like a yellowish-brown smoke, so I kind of figured something was burning. When I went by I noticed it was a house on fire and I didn’t see any fire trucks so immediately I got on the phone and called the police.”

Noaker said the flames were shooting out of the garage.

“Oh the flames were huge,” he said. “It started off in the garage and it just spread to the entire house. Then the vehicles in front, they caught up on fire, and the vehicles went up in flames too and a lot of smoke went everywhere. I was happy to see that they were out, the elderly people. They walked out and I was happy to see they were safe.”

Fire officials confirmed there were working smoke detectors in the home, in fact they could still hear them when they arrived and after the fire was out.

Fire officials remind everyone to be very careful with flammable materials in the garage, keep oily rags and other items that could ignite away from hot lawn mowers and vehicles, and never go back into a house if it’s on fire.