CT photo by Brad Dicken.

A man driving a van home for a family friend after having the vehicle serviced this morning knew there was a problem.

“He noticed the engine was running real rough and pulled over,” North Ridgeville Fire Department Lt. Mike Uhnak said. “He called for a tow truck, and, before he knew it, he had a fully involved van.”

No one was injured in the fire, which destroyed the 1994 Econoline van as it sat in the eastbound lanes of state Route 10 near the Ohio Turnpike and the Aut-O-Rama Twin Drive-In.

Police stopped traffic in both eastbound lanes of Route 10 for a few minutes before re-opening traffic to one lane while firefighters extinguished the blaze.

“It was definitely mechanical in nature,” Uhnak said of the fire. “It began in the engine compartment.”

The fire occurred about 9:45 a.m., police said.

The woman who owned the van was driving in front of the vehicle at the time of the fire, Uhnak said.

“They were headed back to the family’s home when this happened,” Uhnak said. “When she looked in the rear-view mirror and realized he wasn’t behind her, she turned around and came back.”

Firefighters used approximately 800 gallons of water from two ladder trucks to put the fire out.

“There was fire from one end to the other,” Uhnak said. “We had it knocked down pretty quickly.”

Uhnak said the van was outfitted to carry a wheelchair.

The vehicle was valued at approximately $10,000.