A Tuesday evening blaze destroyed a detached garage and its contents at 203 Oak Lawn Ave., according to fire Chief Mike Owenby, Warrenton Fire Protection District. Owenby estimated that the fire caused $10,000 to $12,000 damage. Two adjacent houses sustained exterior damage from the heat given off by the fire. There were no injuries. The Oak Lawn home is the residence of Casey and Stephanie Duello, Owenby said. Four area agencies responded to the 8:06 p.m. fire with a total of seven trucks and 25 firefighters. Two other departments were moved up in the even additional alarms were sounded. "The homeowners' son was working on a car, cutting it up for salvage, when the grinder wheel threw sparks and ignited gasoline fumes," Owenby said. The vehicle was outside the garage. Owenby said flames traveld up the northeast corner of the building, burned through the eaves and entered the attic space. He noted that flammable substances such as paint were stored in the garage attic, which provided additional fuel for the flames. Firefighters' first priority was to protect the houses — one at the Oak Lawn address and the other at 505 Shilling Oaks Drive. The damage to the Shilling Oaks home was "significant," Owenby assessed. "Radiant heat is always a problem," Owenby remarked. "We put hose lines in place right away to protect those structures. At one point, we were putting out about 1,400 gallons of water a minute." He said firefighters initially sprayed water on the two houses, and then began working to extinguish the flames. "We were trying to force the fire back in on itself," Owenby said. Once crews began battling the blaze, the fire was brought under control in about 20 minutes, Owenby stated. In addition to Warrenton firefighters, crews from Wright City, Hawk Point and Wentzville responded to the scene. A crew from Jonesburg was moved to to Station 1 in Warrenton. Another crew from Marthasville covered Station 2. GARAGE FIRE