Published: May 24, 2008 10:10 pm      

Hangar fire damages 3 planes Saturday

PALESTINE — Three private planes were damaged by a small fire Saturday morning inside a hangar at the Palestine Municipal Airport.

According to Palestine Fire Department battalion chief Ernest Crawford, his department and Westside Volunteer Fire Department responded to a call of a fire at an airport hangar owned by Dr. Robert Pate at 9:40 a.m. Saturday.

Firefighters put out the fire within 10 minutes of arrival, Crawford said, but remained on scene for about an hour investigating the cause and making sure it did not re-ignite.

With no apparent signs of forced entry to the hangar, the fire appears likely to have started by a reaction between chemicals stored in a closet inside the hangar, Crawford said.

“We think it was probably a chemical reaction in a closet,” Crawford said.

Three of four planes housed in the hangar suffered light damage, he said, but none were destroyed.

“The outer coatings on the planes kind of melted,” Crawford said. “It was light damage.

“We got the doors open and got the planes out. Everything was closed up and locked, so we feel like nobody got in and did damage.”

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Beth Foley may be contacted via e-mail at bfoley@palestineherald.com