Cleaning van destroyed by fire

TEMPLE - A carpet cleaning van was destroyed by a fire Wednesday evening while workers were at a Temple apartment complex on a job.

Workers for a carpet cleaning company were working in an apartment at University Courtyard Apartments, located in the 2300 block of South 1st St. in Temple. They noticed a malfunction in their equipment, then went outside to find their van was on fire.

The apartment manager used a fire extinguisher, but was unable to put out the flames. The manager and a Temple College police officer alerted nearby residents to evacuate.

Temple Fire & Rescue were called out just before 6:20 p.m. They responded to find heavy black smoke coming from the van, which was parked about 20-25 feet away from apartments. Fire units were able to clear the scene at 7:39 p.m.

An investigation into the fire showed that it started because of a malfunction in the carpet cleaning machine. The fire destroyed the van and the cleaning machine mounted inside. No apartments were in danger from the fire, and there were no injuries reported.

Temple police also responded to the scene.

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Cleaning van destroyed by fire