Auto Dealership, Retail Gaithersburg, MD – Sprinkler system prevented fire from spreading at auto repair shop; No injuries reported February 26, 2019 viking210 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.
