VENANGO TWP — A large garage packed with vehicles, lawn mowers, tools and other belongings was destroyed early this morning in a fast-moving fire in the 200 block of Eau Claire Road.

No one was injured in the blaze that broke out just after midnight at the home of Artie Miller in Venango Township. A damage estimate was not immediately available.

Miller and his wife and their four young children where home when he heard a loud noise outside.

“It sounded like something blew up,” he said. “I looked out the window and everything was orange.”

Flames, he could see, had ignited the detached three-stall, wood garage some 50 feet from the home.

A short time later, the electricity went off in the trailer.

“I didn't know what the hell was going on,” Miller said. He and his wife rounded up their children — ages 3, 7, 10 and 12 — and they went outside, fearing the fire could spread to the trailer.

It did not.

But the garage was as good as gone by the time the first fire trucks got there.

Stored inside, Miller said, was oil and tires, which could have fueled the blaze. Fire crews were left with no other option but a 'surround and drown' operation.

An older “beater car,” which had not been driven for about a year, went up in flames. That loss apparently did not bother Miller.

He seemed more upset with the destruction of other items, including four ATVS, three riding lawnmowers, tools and an air compressor.

One of the ATVs was purchased just three days ago, Miller said.

He did not know if his insurance would cover the loss of the garage and contents.

A cause of the fire also was not immediately known. Miller said there was a fire in the wood burner but he did not know if that could have touched off the blaze.

Fire officials could not be reached for comment.

Volunteer firefighters from Eau Claire, Marion Township and North Washington helped battle the blaze.