A firefighter suffered a minor back injury during a fire at a vacant house in Olathe early this morning.

A police officer on patrol discovered the blaze shortly before 5 a.m. The officer saw flames inside a garage of a house in the 200 block of South Central Street, according to the Olathe Fire Department.

By the time firefighters arrived, the garage was fully engulfed in fire and flames were shooting through the roof.

Firefighters quickly brought the fire under control. Heat from the fire damaged the vinyl siding of a neighboring home.

The injured firefighter was taken to a hospital for treatment. There were no other reports of injuries.

An investigator believes that the fire was caused by a water heater’s pilot light igniting natural gas escaping from a broken line to the furnace. The fire caused an estimated $80,000 in damages.

| Robert A. Cronkleton, bcronkleton@kcstar.com