Truck Fire Extinguished

Fire District No. 3 personnel responded to a vehicle fire early February 7 on Main and First streets. The 1989 Chevrolet pickup driven by David W. Goddard, 52, of Dayton, caught fire while moving on Main Street at about 9:07 a.m. A caller from State Farm Insurance told Columbia County dispatchers the blue pickup was on fire, then appeared to have been extinguished, but there was smoke coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle was turned onto First Street and, according to police reports, the driver was attempting to move the vehicle off the street and into a parking space near Elk Drug. In the meantime, a blue Ford flatbed pickup is said to have picked up the driver about a minute after the stricken truck was pushed into a parking spot. Deputies and fire units were dispatched and responded, ensuring the vehicle fire was out. The driver was reported to be enroute to the courthouse at the time the fire occurred.