Wednesday night at approximately 8:45 p.m., the fire department responded to a call near Hayward Avenue and Storm Street where a 2001 Ford F-150 was engulfed in flames.

Nicole Zitelman, senior in agriculture business, and Angie Sperfslage, senior in horticulture, were sitting on the couch watching Law and Order SVU when they heard a loud bang.

Going to look out the window, Sperfslage saw the truck on fire. They called 911 before removing everyone from the house.

While on the phone, loud popping noises came from the truck and the horn started to blare. The fire department showed up in moments.

“They are doing a good job at what they are doing,” said Sperfslage. “So good job to the fire department.”

Calling the neighbors where the truck was located, the girls found that the neighbors were at Es Tas Bar and Grill.

Ryan Bader, junior in kinesiology, began the night parking at a friend’s house before heading to Es Tas Bar and Grill.

When his friend got a call that there was a fire at their house, they called Bader and stated that someone set his truck on fire. However, when returning to the house, the fire department assured him it was due to a malfunction within the truck.

“The fire was from under the hood,” said Lt. Brian O’Loughlin with the Ames Fire Department. “The vehicle was near the building, but no buildings were damaged. The damage was contained to just the vehicle itself.”

However, Bader was not notified it was his car in flames at first.

“I didn’t get a call for another five minutes until [Bader’s friends] got back here,” Bader said. “I just finished my beer and ran over here.”