No one injured when minivan catches fire

Gail Dubeck watched flames engulf and char her minivan in front of her Hancock home Tuesday as she also tried to pull her husband, William, back from fighting the fire with a garden hose.

Gail was thankful and in good spirits Wednesday evening.

She said that before the fire department arrived, “My biggest problem was keeping (my husband) away from the car.”

Neither of the Dubecks were injured in the accident, although Hancock Police Chief Andrew Wood wrote in an email on Wednesday the Dubecks’s 2000 Dodge Caravan was a “total loss.”

Gail said she was driving their minivan home from being serviced only a few miles away when she started to smell something burning. She thought the smell was coming from a passing truck. Within a few minutes, she said she noticed the front of the car filling up with smoke. A man then stopped her, and said, “Get away from that car,” she recalled.

“I don’t know who he was. But I thank him,” she said.

Gail managed to pull over in front of her driveway on 161 Peterborough Rd where the minivan was quickly consumed by flames.

Wood said they believe gas might have been leaking from the motor, but that it was “inconclusive” Wednesday.

Hancock Fire Chief Nevan Cassidy said once the fire started, it “burned [the car] right up.” The fire charred the interior and only left behind one of its four tires.

Gail also said her husband’s tools he left in the car melted along with his glasses.

“Everything was melted,” she said. “But that happens. I’m really glad no one got hurt”