Dixon Firefighters Battle ‘Suspicious’ Garage Fire

The battled an early-morning fire Tuesday that started in the garage of a home on Hillhouse Street, near West B Street.

The fire was relatively small in size Dixon Fire Division Chief Ron Karlen said and began at 6:12 a.m., in a garage that had been converted into a living space. 

“It was mostly an exterior wall fire that got up into the attic space a little bit and into the wall,” Karlen said.

Firefighters managed to knock out the flames within 20 minutes and began the investigation into the cause of the fire.

“It is suspicious in nature,” Karlen said. “Where the fire started, it doesn’t look like it was an electrically-caused fire and there was no other cause. It is possible that it was started on a ground level.”

Karlen said that no official cause has been determined and that the investigation is ongoing. He said the fire department has responded to past incidents at Hillhouse Street that have also been suspicious in nature.

No one was injured during the fire, but flames caused $20,000 worth of damage to the structure and the personal belongings inside. Anyone with information about this fire is asked to contact the Dixon Fire Department at 678-7060.