KILLEEN (June 08, 2010)-Combined efforts from a Killeen man and firefighters from his local fire department early Tuesday may have helped saved his home from a massive fire.

Firefighters responded around 2 a.m. Thursday to a structure and grass fire at the residence on Cedar Ridge Circle just off of Chapparal Road near the Killeen city limits.

Killeen Fire Chief Jerry Gardener said flames from a storage shed could be seen more than 100-feet in the air.

Limited access to water hydrants in the neighborhood prompted firefighters to request a 5,000 gallon tanker from Southwest Bell County Volunteer Fire Department but firefighters managed to knock down the flames before the tanker arrived.

Gardner said the shed was lost to the flames and the main focus was to keep the encroaching grassfire away from the home.

“They got that knocked down early and then concentrated on pushing the rest of the fire in the shed out,” Gardner said.

The house suffered minor heat and smoke damage to the back exterior but remained livable.

The resident of the home was battling the flames which started in the back of the shed, the fire chief said.

Gardner was not sure if the man called 9-1-1 before or after he began his attempt to save the shed but advised that properly equipped personnel should always be contacted first in an emergency situation.