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St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Wednesday, November 5, 2008 9:22 PM CST
Riding mower catches fire; three structures damaged

By NATHANIEL WEST, Staff Writer
nwest@jg-tc.com

MATTOON — James Cobb knows what it’s like to be in the hot seat.

His riding lawn mower caught fire Wednesday afternoon while he was still on board, and the resulting blaze damaged three separate structures and destroyed several vehicles on the west of Mattoon.

Cobb said he was in the process of turning off the mower — which he had parked between his house, 2912 Marion Ave. and the garage of the adjacent house, 620 S. 30th St. — after cutting his lawn.

“I shut it off, and it backfired, and, bam, instantly flames,” said Cobb. “It almost blew me off the seat.”

Mattoon Fire Chief Mike Chism reported no injuries.

Firefighters were dispatched at 2:24 p.m. The garage of the home rented by Jeremy and Jennifer Mast and their roommate, Casey Harshbarger, was engulfed in flames when fire trucks arrived at the scene.

A Chevrolet S10 pickup and a Honda motorcycle inside the garage were consumed, as were all of the tools that Jeremy Mast had been collecting since his childhood, said Jennifer Mast.

Chism said the garage itself was effectively destroyed, and the west exterior wall of Cobb’s residence also suffered extensive damage.

Jeremy Mast said he was fixing the pickup truck purchased by a friend just last week. The motorcycle belonged to Harshbarger.

An Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme in the driveway near the garage was damaged as well.

The flames also melted the siding on the house next door, 616 S. 30th St., and possibly damaged a boat stored behind the residence.

Cobb said he has owned the 16 1/2-horsepower Ranch King riding mower for nine years. When the conflagration sparked under him, “I didn’t need any help getting off,” he said with a chuckle.

“Instantly, the whole thing was burning.”

The Masts said they were not home at the time of the fire, but Harshbarger was in the basement of the house they are renting to own.

They all have renter’s insurance, Jennifer Mast said.

Contact Nathaniel West at nwest@jg-tc.com or 238-6860.

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Mattoon firefighters extinguish a garage fire on the 2900 block of Marion Avenue Wednesday afternoon in Mattoon. Ken Trevarthan/Staff Photographer