GALLATIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — A garage fire on Coles Ferry Road in Gallatin sent burning embers raining down on a nearby animal shelter and woke neighbors with what witnesses described as a loud explosion.
Ramon Garcia, who lives across the street, was inside when the fire broke out.
"I was inside the room when… boom! I went outside and saw the fire," Garcia said.
Marta Mastropasqua was even closer to the danger. She was sleeping in a camper behind the Animal Rescue Corps, keeping watch over dozens of animals.
"There was a loud explosion. The whole camper shook. And I jumped out of bed saying what just exploded? And I saw an orange glow out the window. So then I proceeded to look out the window and I saw the flames and called 911," Mastropasqua said.
As the fire destroyed the garage, burning embers began falling on the Animal Rescue Corps building. Mastropasqua said she grabbed a garden hose to protect the shelter.
"I came out and I grabbed the garden hose because there was giant embers falling on the roof and all over the ground. And I started spraying the shelter roof to make sure that none of those embers would ignite," Mastropasqua said.
Fire Chief Jeff Beaman said crews arrived just 3 minutes after being dispatched and had the fire under control within 15 minutes.
Beaman addressed the explosions witnesses reported hearing.
"So there's been some talk about explosions and yes there were a few explosions while we were there. We did look into it. It lines up with things that people normally store in their garage and sometimes when they're exposed to fire they go boom," Beaman said.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. Beaman said it will be a couple of days before investigators have a better idea of what started it.
As for Mastropasqua, she said the experience left her shaken — and the animals a little rattled, too.
"It just felt surreal. I was like what is going on? There was definitely that moment of panic as soon as I woke up," Mastropasqua said.
She added that the dogs at the shelter now bark a little louder than normal.
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