WEST PARIS – A garage and two vehicles were destroyed Sunday afternoon by a fire sparked by an acetylene torch.

The fire occurred at 1:18 p.m. at 76 North Paris Road. Chief Norm St. Pierre of the West Paris Fire Department said owner Burton Cole was doing brazing work on a Ford Bronco inside the garage when the fire started on the garage floor.

St. Pierre said Cole used the garage for car painting work, and that the blaze spread through flammable materials inside the garage such as paints and lacquers. Cole escaped the building without injury and was attempting to fight the flames with a garden hose when firefighters arrived.

The garage, Bronco, and a Jeep Cherokee outside the building were destroyed by the fire. Two other Jeeps near the building were burned on one side. St. Pierre estimated the total damages at $50,000.

St. Pierre said the garage stood approximately 150 feet from the Coles’ residence. Chief Brad Frost of the Paris Fire Department said there was no wind during the fire and no danger of it spreading to the residence.

Frost said the garage was a wooden frame building approximately 20 feet by 40 feet. He said the fire was under control after about 45 to 50 minutes.

St. Pierre said the blaze marks the first use of the town’s new pumper truck in town, and that the truck’s 2,000-gallon capacity allowed firefighters to fight the fire without having to refill on water.

He said the Coles have homeowners’ insurance.