A woodburning stove was the suspected cause of a fire that destroyed a two-stall garage in Oakland Township early Sunday.

OAKLAND TWP — A woodburning stove was the suspected cause of a fire that destroyed a two-stall garage Sunday morning at a home on Route 68 in the township. No one was injured, but damage was estimated at $50,000.

Crews initially were concerned that the fire about 10 a.m. could extend from the garage — a metal pole building — to the porch and house just feet away, authorities said.

Flames charred porch timbers and melted vinyl siding on the house on the 200 block of Route 68, also known as Chicora Road; however, quick action by firefighters kept the fire from spreading on the Williams farm.

A trooper was first on scene after a motorist flagged him down in the Lick Hill area to report the garage on fire, state police said. The trooper was first on scene and he immediately made sure that all of the occupants were safely out of the house.

An East Butler fire crew got there a short time later, and soon firefighters from several other departments arrived. In all, about 45 firefighters helped battle the blaze.

The garage already was engulfed in flames, so the priority was keeping the fire from igniting the porch and house, said Gary Wulff, chief of the Oneida Valley-Oakland Township Volunteer Fire Department.

A utility terrain vehicle, an air compressor and other assorted tools were among the property in the garage that also were destroyed. Wulff estimated the damage to the garage at $30,000 and another $20,000 to its contents.

Crews later inspected the inside of the house and deployed a thermal-imaging camera to make sure the fire did not extend into the home.

He said he believed that a woodburner inside and in back of the garage caused the accidental fire.

Assisting the Oneida Valley and East Butler VFDs were firefighters from Lick Hill, Chicora and Herman.