2 Vehicles Catch Fire in Egg Harbor Township Driveway
From the Atlantic City Press Published: Saturday, December 13, 2008 
By MICHELLE LEE Staff Writer, 609-272-7256
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP - Township fire officials are investigating a blaze that destroyed two parked vehicles early Friday morning.
The Cardiff Volunteer Fire Department responded to an emergency call about 4 a.m. at a home on the 300 block of Shires Way, where a van and sports utility vehicle were burning, Chief Tom Sweeny said. Sweeny said seven firefighters responded to the call and it took a few minutes to put out the blaze. The family was evacuated from the house for safety reasons, and no one was injured, Sweeny said.
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While it was unclear what caused the fire, Sweeny said the blaze started in the van and then traveled to the SUV. Sweeny said it did not look suspicious and it may have been an accident.
Iris Mendez, who lives in the house, said she did not understand how the family car and her boyfriend's work van caught fire. Mendez said nothing unusual happened Thursday when they came home after work around 5 p.m. and parked their vehicles outside.
Mendez said she was asleep when the car explosions happened. "The first time, I really thought it was the wind, the trees. The second time, everything lit up in the room. I went to the window, and I saw the white van on fire," she said.
While Mendez was glad no one in her family was hurt, she questioned whether the fire was accidental. Mendez said losing both cars will be difficult for her family.
They moved into the neighborhood a month ago from Pleasantville and the 2000 SUV was their main form of transportation. While her boyfriend got a lift to his job Friday from a co-worker, Mendez was unsure how she will get to her job at the Shore Mall.
"We just got the car two months ago," she said. "It was very tough, but things happen."
E-mail Michelle Lee: MLee@pressofac.com
