Auto Dealership, Retail Fairfield, NJ – Sprinkler system assists in firefighters in suppressing overnight fire at Mercedes-Benz dealership December 18, 2017 viking210 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.
