Crews arrived on the scene of a large, two-story auto dealership with smoke coming out of multiple garage bay doors. Crews quickly located fire in and below a vehicle that was being serviced and up on a lift. The fire sprinkler system activated and kept the fire contained until it was able to be fully extinguished by firefighters. There were no civilian or fire fighter injuries reported.
Approximately 50 people were in the building when the fire occurred. The fire was discovered in the repair shop bay by the workers in that area.
Fire investigators determined the fire was accidental in nature and started in the service bay area. The fire was caused by the arcing of a battery-operated tool that had been doused in gasoline. The tool arced in the operator’s hands and caught fire. The operator dropped the burning tool and it landed in a pool of gasoline. The fire spread to the vehicle being worked on and surrounding combustibles.
No one was displaced because of the fire. Red Cross assistance was not needed. Damages as a result of the fire were approximately $51,254.
