Cliff Buchan
News Editor

There was a reason why Forest Lake Fire Chief Gary Sigfrinius has carried that heavy-duty log chain in his vehicle for years.

The fire chief needed that chain on Feb. 28 when he pulled up to a car fire in the parking lot on the west side of The Plaza, 56 E. Broadway.

Sigfrinius found a van, parked five feet from the building and flanked by two other cars, fully engulfed in flames.

With fire crews still several minutes away, Sigfrinius grabbed the log chain, hooked it to the burning van, and used his vehicle to pull it a safe distance from the building and the other vehicles.

“It was cooking pretty good,” the fire chief said of the van. The fire had started in the engine compartment.

The driver, a woman from Ham Lake, was getting her hair done at a local salon at the time of the fire call at 4:40 p.m. on Feb. 28.

The chief said the van was a total loss but no other vehicles were damaged.

The vehicle, a 1998 Ford Windstar, was registered to Janet R. Eppenberger, 41, of Ham Lake.

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