By Rob Scott
COOPER TOWNSHIP -- Firefighters from seven different companies battled an intense fire at a residence along the Montour County border Sunday night.
A two-story workshop owned by Joe Manning, of 294 County Line Drive, was completely destroyed by the fire. Fire crews from Danville, Southside, East End, Liberty, Washingtonville, Catawissa and Montour Township were able to save Manning's residence, which Danville Borough Fire Chief Mark Fry said was just four feet away.
Fry believed a battery charger for a remote control airplane might have overheated, sparking the blaze at around 9:30 p.m. Upon his arrival, the flames were contained within the building.
By the time the first trucks arrived, the chief said, the flames had broken out of the building and were lighting up the wooded area around the residence. Before midnight, the blaze had been knocked down and firefighters had a large ladder stretched over top of what was left of the building and were dousing hotspots.
Lack of available water and the terrain and location of the fire posed unusual challenges for the crews.
Seven tanker trucks were used to carry water from the Danville Elks building and the Danville Water Plant to the scene of the blaze at the intersection of County Line Drive and Ridge Road at the Montour-Columbia county line.
County Line itself was a winding road and up hill, posing more of a challenge, Fry said.
Chief Fry was not sure if Manning's garage was insured.
