Rural fire fighters extinguish grass fire sparked by vehicle

Jason E. Silvers/Tribune photo A vehicle fire near 240th Street and Limestone Road sparked a grass fire in a nearby field late Monday morning. Scott Township Fire Department and the Bourbon County Sheriff's Office responded to the blaze.

The Scott Township Fire Department dealt with a vehicle and grass fire in the area of 240th Street and Limestone Road late Monday morning.

About 11:30 a.m., rural firefighters responded to a blaze that started when a vehicle caught fire on 240th and spread into a nearby field, burning its way east as firefighters attempted to douse the flames.

Scott Township Fire Chief Jason Eastwood said the male owner and driver of a 2000 Pontiac Sunfire reported he had stopped along the edge of 240th when the fire inside the car started. The owner told Eastwood the fire was apparently mechanical in nature. Eastwood said the driver, who was the only occupant of the car, was not injured in the incident.

"He said it was down in one of the tires mechanically. It locked up on him," Eastwood said. "There was smoke inside the car that came up through the dash. He (driver) evacuated the car."

The vehicle fire then sparked a blaze in a grassy field along 240th Street. The driver pulled over into a grassy ditch on the side of the road and the car fire ignited the grass fire.

"It started a secondary fire in tall native grass on the corner," Eastwood said. "It burned east and there was about an acre and a half of grass burned."