A street sweeper caught fire inside the Lansford Borough garage Tuesday afternoon, igniting another truck and its diesel fuel and prompting a response from at least a dozen fire companies from two counties.

Lansford Councilman Joe Butrie, who oversees the public works department, said he was outside the building when they smelled something burning around 2:30 p.m.

He and employees went inside and saw flames coming from the street sweeper. The borough was preparing to sweep streets throughout the town starting Monday.

They attempted to quell the flames with extinguishers, but the fire got too big, Butrie said. They called 911 and attempted to save as many vehicles as they could, driving out four, he said.

Lansford Fire Chief Joe Greco said borough crew members were still pulling out vehicles when firefighters arrived. They immediately set up a hose stream and began extinguishing the fire.

The fire had already extended from the sweeper to a vacuum truck used for cleaning sewer inlets, he said, and that vehicle’s fuel tanks ruptured, Greco said.

“Then we had burning fuel inside the building,” he said, explaining when diesel fuel burns it causes thick, black smoke. “We couldn’t really see in there. The smoke filled up that compartment.”

Thick, black smoke rose through the roof of the historic stone building, which dates to 1872. Firetrucks clogged the area around Dock Street at the former Silberline complex, which is owned by the borough.

Fire police blocked off streets and kept main arteries open for emergency vehicles to access the scene, where hoses snaked along the ground.

Booms were set up to capture diesel fuel which was mixed with firefighting foam and water flowing from inside the building, Greco said.

The fire was contained in about 40 minutes, Greco said. The fire, he said, was ruled accidental.

Butrie said that they contacted the borough office, which was notifying the borough’s insurance company. The main thing was that no one was hurt, he said. The equipment can be replaced, Butrie said.

Greco believed the building would be able to be saved, despite the holes in the roof, and the borough will have its insurance adjuster look at the structure.

“I think we can consider ourselves lucky that it occurred this time of the day, and not an hour after their shift, because then I think they probably would have lost more equipment,” the chief said.

“The fact that we’re able to keep it to two vehicles, you know, I consider it a win,” Greco said.

Among the responding fire companies were Lansford, Coaldale, Summit Hill, Nesquehoning, Lehighton, Jim Thorpe, Mahoning Township, American Hose Co., Franklin Township and Weatherly as well as Lehighton EMS.

Street sweeping, which was going to begin next week in Lansford, is now on hold, Butrie said.