Photo courtesy of Don Gilroy Multiple fire departments, including the Tygart Valley Fire Company, Huttonsville Mill Creek Fire Department and Beverly Volunteer Fire Department, were called to a structure fire in Valley Bend Thursday night. Once on scene, firefighters discovered a two-stall garage that was fully engulfed in flames.

VALLEY BEND — A two-stall garage was deemed a total loss after a structure fire in Valley Bend Thursday night.

While on a call for a flue fire in Mill Creek, the Tygart Valley Fire Company was alerted to a structure fire in Valley Bend at approximately 8:09 p.m., officials said. Once on scene, the TVFC located a garage that was fully engulfed.

“We were at a flue fire on the Back Road coming out of Mill Creek when we received the call for Valley Bend,” TVFC Chief Noah Gilroy told The Inter-Mountain Friday. “When we got here it was a fully engulfed fire at a two-stall detached garage. It was basically totally burned when we got there and there was an outbuilding next to it that was on fire. So we put out the outbuilding before getting the garage out.”

Gilroy said there were two vehicles inside the garage that burned to the ground and were a total loss. He said officials are unsure what started the blaze.

“The vehicles were burnt to where you couldn’t even recognize what kind they were,” Gilroy said. “We were on scene at the fire in Valley Bend for a good hour and a half. The power was off in Valley Bend for a couple hours and when it came back on was about the same time the fire started. We are unsure what started the fire because everything was so burned up.”

Gilroy said there were no signs of foul play and that the homeowners were out of town at the time of the fire.

“I would say there was something in (the garage) that shorted out, or something like that,” Gilroy said. “Garages don’t have any partition walls in them, so when the outside walls are burning they are falling on themselves. There was some reloading equipment in there and some gunpowder, so it was popping off there a little bit.”

Gilroy said the fire could be seen glowing throughout the Valley Bend area.

“When we were coming up to the fire you could see it glowing,” he said. “I had all of Valley Bend glowing and you could see exactly where the fire was at.”

The Huttonsville Mill Creek department and the Beverly Volunteer Fire Department assisted the TVFC at the scene.

Next weekend, the Tygart Valley Fire Company will be hosting its annual free Santa on a Fire Truck event on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 6:30 p.m.

The truck will make stops throughout the Valley Bend area, including at locations including Mountaineer Insurance, Wildwood Manor, Valley Bend Church, and the old C&J Restaurant.

For more information on the TVFC or map route of the Santa event, visit the Fire Department’s Facebook page.