Firefighters extinguished a vehicle fire Saturday afternoon on Priest Road near Highway 20, Philomath Fire and Rescue reported.
Responding at 2:28 p.m. Jan. 27 to an area located on the far west boundary of the district, firefighters arrived at the scene to find a Jeep Liberty’s engine and front passenger compartment engulfed in flames.
“The crew made fast work of putting water on the fire and quickly got the fire under control,” Deputy Fire Chief Rich Saalsaa said. “Crews then spent time removing the hood of the vehicle with extrication equipment and peeling back the console inside the vehicle to get to the seat of the fire.”
No injuries were reported. Highway 20 traffic was not impacted with the Jeep on Priest Road.
Philomath Fire and Rescue sent an engine crew of four and an incident commander to the scene.
“The vehicle had broken down a couple of times before stopping altogether at the location where the fire took place,” Saalsaa said. “The car had lost its battery power and was jump-started. After a few minutes, the jumper cables were removed and the car revved at high RPM to keep up the charging power.”
The owner reported a loud popping sound from under the hood and smoke started pouring out, Saalsaa added. Soon after, the vehicle was overtaken by flames.
The Benton County Sheriff’s Office assisted at the scene with traffic control and arranging for a tow truck.