SACO (NEWS CENTER Maine) — A Saco couple is busy cleaning up after an early morning fire, Monday, damaged their garage.
The homeowners, Ray and Nancy Beaulieu, were sleeping when the fire started, but a Good Samaritan banged on their front door to wake them up.
Firefighters were able to put the fire out quickly and there was little structural damage to the garage, but the Beaulieus know the fire could have been worse if not for their neighbors and people driving by.
Nancy Beaulieu says "it would have spread and we wouldn't have known."
Deputy Fire Chief David Pendleton says the exact cause of the fire is hard to pinpoint, but he says a space heater with a thermostat may be to blame.
Pendleton says "kerosene, propane or electric heaters that have been plugged in, that we might have forgotten about, that are set to certain temperatures, may kick on as the temperatures go down."
Pendleton says with the cooler weather coming its a good time to think about our heating appliances...furnaces and fireplaces. Making sure they're clean and in good condition. And that there are working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors in the house.