Garage engulfed

MOUNT PLEASANT — Jordan Snider was alone Sunday afternoon in his home in the Sweetgrass neighborhood off Rifle Range Road, checking his e-mail in the front room, when he suddenly heard a noise upstairs.

"I thought somebody was robbing me, breaking into the house," he said.

His first thought was to run upstairs and grab a pistol, which he did. That's when he smelled smoke and the fire alarm went off.

Pistol still in hand, he glanced out the window and saw people in the yard. It was some neighbors and a Mount Pleasant police officer.

Not wanting to give the officer the wrong idea, Snider dropped the gun and ran out of the house with his hands up. Then he turned his head and saw flames billowing out over the garage.

He jumped into his car in the driveway and drove it away from the house. By the time he ran back, the garage was engulfed in flames.

He heard his new Ducati motorcycle explode inside. He didn't have a chance to move his mother's white Dodge Caravan before the garage door fell on it, blackening the front end and melting the front tires.

The Mount Pleasant Fire Department got the call at 4:38 p.m., Capt. Mark Karst said. The first truck arrived within six minutes. Five units responded. A crowd of neighbors watched the flames wilt the trees over the garage and buckle the nearby tan vinyl siding.

The flames were out within 20 minutes, Karst said. The garage and a room over it are a blackened shell, but the rest of the house is OK, other than a smoky smell.

Snider's older brother, Jake, arrived to offer Jordan and his dog, Bosley, a place to stay until they can get back in the house. Their mother's dog, Ellie, also was fine.