A family on Hanover Place woke up Sunday morning to two of their vehicles on fire.

The homeowner, Valentine Gelaart, says they smelled something in their basement like 'burning or wires shorting'. After checking inside the house Gelaart said he looked outside 'then I saw fire on this car and I ran outside and tried to stop that. I called my wife to call 911.'

Hanover District Fire Chief Dave Plett says they found two cars on fire when they arrived on scene ‘and the outside of the house was starting to get hot so we put water on it and cooled everything off’

'We got some water on the car closest to the house to just make sure the house didn’t start on fire and then we attacked the second car that was further away from the house.'

Firefighters cooled the house down to keep the flames from spreadingWhile most of the damage was to the vehicles and the exterior of the house, Plett says they did make sure the home was safe.

'We do an interior search for any heat damage or any signs of fire on the inside of the house. We also check the house for smoke so if the residents are still in the house, we take them out if it’s too smoky in there.'

Plett says the cause of the fire was most likely related to the block heater cord and provided a reminder for this time of year, 'We should check our plugs for any breaks or anything unusual.'