Category Archives: Auto Dealership

Auto Dealership, Retail

Gaithersburg, MD – Sprinkler system prevented fire from spreading at auto repair shop; No injuries reported

Two cars are left damaged after a fire started in a Gaithersburg auto repair shop.

According to the Montgomery County Fire Department, the fire broke out Thursday at about 7 am at J B Auto Repair on Rickenbacker Drive.

About 50 firefighters were on scene and found that the fire started in the engine compartment of a BMW vehicle, and extended to at least one other car.

Officials say the sprinkler system helped prevent the fire from spreading to other cars under repair inside the garage.

“Good thing it happened at the end of the shop. There were like 14 cars inside the shop, so two of them were the two last cars that got damaged. We were able to, I guess, get the issue solved early, but a lot of clean up to do,” explained J B Auto Repair owner, Jose Benitez.

Fire officials determined the cause to be accidental, but say they are aware that the BMW vehicle model does have a history of issues with fires starting in the engine area and believe that to have been the cause.

No employees or firefighters suffered injuries. 

Auto Dealership, Retail

East Brookfield, MA – Sprinkler system activated for truck fire in garage of Ford dealership

Overhead sprinklers helped knock down a small truck fire in the garage of a Ford car and truck dealership.

Shortly before 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, a truck being serviced at Lamoureux Ford, 366 E. Main St., somehow caught fire, police Lt. William Gregoire said.

At the time of the fire, the truck was on a lift that was raised in the air and being worked on, Lt. Gregoire said.

Lt. Gregoire said the sprinkler system in the building took care of the fire pretty quickly, with the aid of fire extinguishers.

“The sprinkler system was the savior of the day,” Lt. Gregoire said. “It worked as it was supposed to.”

The garage was filled with smoke.

No one was hurt, according to police.

Auto Dealership

Tucson, AZ – Sprinkler system prevents garage fire from spreading to showroom at Mercedes-Benz dealership

A fire at a Mercedes-Benz dealership on Tucson’s east side on Wednesday, Oct. 24, damaged at least one car in the garage, but did not spread to the showroom.  Sprinklers activated, helping stop the spread of the fire at 6350 E. Grant Road.  According to information from the Tucson Fire Department, one employee of the dealership was taken to the hospital for treatment of minor burns. No firefighters were hurt.  It took 36 firefighters and 15 TFD units about 16 minutes to get the fire under control.  Investigators are working to determine the cause and origin of the fire.

Auto Dealership, Retail

Miami Township, OH – Fire in body shop of auto dealership doused by sprinkler system; Dealership open for business next morning

Crews are working to determine the cause of a small fire Friday night in one of the body shop bays at Castrucci Honda Service in Miami Twp.  A cleaning crew called in the fire a Miami Valley Fire District battalion chief said involved some papers that produced smoke as well. The garage sprinkler system kicked in to douse the fire.  The smoke and fire damage at the business, 3013 Mall Park Drive, are minimal, said General Manager Mike Boone, head of all Castrucci business in the Dayton area. Boone said the business will be open Saturday.  He also said he doesn’t believe any of the vehicles in the body shop were damaged.  No injuries were reported.

Crews were dispatched just after 9:30 p.m. on a report of a possible structure fire.

Auto Dealership, Retail

Las Vegas, NV – Sprinkler system helps douse office fire at auto shop; No injuries reported

No one was injured early Thursday morning after the front office of a central valley auto shop caught fire.

Firefighters responded just before 4 a.m. to reports of a fire at 360 Auto Care, 1723 N. Decatur Blvd., near Vegas Drive, according to Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski.

The shop’s sprinkler system activated and helped douse the flames and crews took care of the rest with a fire hose, Szymanski said. The fire was contained to the front office.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, he said.

Auto Dealership, Retail

Gainesville, GA – Sprinkler system keeps vehicle fire contained at Hardy Chevrolet

A vehicle caught fire inside of Hardy Chevrolet before 2 a.m. Thursday, according to the Gainesville Fire Department.

Fire crews found a vehicle ablaze inside the Browns Bridge Road auto dealer after responding to a call of possible fire. The building’s sprinkler system kept the fire from spreading, allowing firefighters to douse the flames soon after they arrived.

The Gainesville Fire Marshal is investigating the cause, according to Division Chief Keith Smith.

This report will be updated.

Auto Dealership, Other Business

Bismarck, ND – Fire at auto body shop extinguished by sprinkler system; Business resumes operations quickly

A fire, caused by welding sparks which ignited the filters of a spray booth ventilation system at an auto body shop, was largely contained by the business’ sprinklers on Tuesday. The Bismarck Fire Department was dispatched at about 4:23 p.m. to the 1800 block of Commerce Drive, where heavy smoke was showing from the shop area of the single-story building.

Fire had spread to the roof top HVAC system, but flames inside the shop had been extinguished by the activation of two heads on the fire sprinkler system, according to Owen Fitzsimmons, a fire marshal with the Bismarck Fire Department, who deemed the incident was accidental. Fire crews removed a roof top ventilation fan and a portion of the roof to access and extinguish the blaze. Afterward, a thermal imaging camera was used to scan for any fire spread, and firefighters left the scene at about 7:24 p.m.

Bismarck Police Department assisted with scene control. Metro Area Ambulance was on scene to provide assistance. There were no injuries to building occupants or firefighters. The sprinkler system has been reactivated, the business remains in operation.

Auto Dealership, Retail

Albemarle, NC – Sprinkler system contains fire at auto repair business

A car repair business inside the Yett Millwork Corporation building at 503 Old Charlotte Road has been displaced due to a Tuesday morning fire. Albemarle Fire Department units were dispatched at 7:29 a.m. and the first unit arrived six minutes later. Engine 121 reported smoke showing from the building, with a fire being discovered inside. “Luckily the sprinkler system worked OK and contained the fire to where it started,” Fire Chief Shawn Oke said. Two individuals escaped the building on their own and two others were located and removed during a search of the building, Oke said. Damage to the building is estimated at $20,000, with damage to contents at $5,000. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Twelve on-duty and 14 off-duty personnel responded and had the scene cleared shortly after 11 a.m. Also assisting were Albemarle Police Department, Stanly County EMS and City of Albemarle Public Utilities.

Auto Dealership, Retail

Fairfield, NJ – Sprinkler system assists in firefighters in suppressing overnight fire at Mercedes-Benz dealership

An electrical fire at the Mercedes-Benz of Caldwell at 1230 Bloomfield Avenue in Fairfield last week was suppressed with the help of an automatic fire sprinkler system.  According to the Fairfield Police Department, officers received a call from cleaning workers about a fire in the shop area of the business around 10:10 p.m. on Dec. 9. The workers were in a different part of the building when they saw smoke and flames in the shop area, police said. A Fairfield police officer responding to the scene was able to determine that the building was evacuated, but had to retreat due to a “very heavy” smoke condition.

The Fairfield Fire Department arrived soon afterward and extinguished the conflagration. Authorities provided the following statement about the possible cause of the fire:

“Preliminary investigation indicates that a 2015 C300 Mercedes Benz was up on a lift and was apparently attached to a computer diagnostic machine. It appears that an electrical fire started and traveled up the lift and eventually caught the car on fire. The sprinkler system activated and helped to assist in keeping the fire suppressed.”

Police said that while the direct fire damage appears to have been confined to the Mercedes, the business itself received a substantial amount of smoke and water damage. Additionally, other vehicles that were located on lifts in the shop may have also experienced both water and smoke damage. The financial toll of the damage was not immediately available, police stated.

Auto Dealership, Retail

Montreal, QC, Canada – Arson fire at car dealership put out by sprinkler system

A car dealership on Cote-de-Liesse was damaged by an incendiary device thrown through a window on Sunday morning.

At 2:00 a.m., a 911 call was made reporting the fire. When firefighters arrived, they found the fire extinguished by the sprinkler system.

Surveillance footage showed a man throwing an object at the window to break it and then throwing the incendiary device once they were inside.

The SPVM arson squad is investigating. No arrests have yet been made.