Cape Coral garage fire causes $45K worth of damage

CAPE CORAL, Fla. Flames forced five people to evacuate from their home Saturday afternoon.

Crews battled the fire that sparked inside of the garage at the 1000 block of Southwest 14th Terrace for about 20 minutes, the Cape Coral Fire Department said. The fire, deemed accidental, was started from the clothes dryer and caused $45,000 in damage, officials said.

Once the garage fire was controlled, a transformer blew and caused a small grass fire in the backyard of the home, officials said.

The residents and two dogs were able to exit the home safely and no injuries were reported, officials said.

The American Red Cross offered the residents assistance until they can get back on their feet, officials said said.