A Dittmer automotive shop was severely damaged by heat and smoke when a vehicle caught fire in its garage Sunday night (June 7).
Firefighters from the Cedar Hill Fire Protection District were called at about 11 p.m. to Deck’s Automotive and Transmission on Hwy. 30 near its intersection with Dittmer-Catwissa Road, Assistant Chief Greg Shuster said.
“There was light smoke showing when we arrived,” he said. “We made entry into the building and found a vehicle surrounded by fire.”
The business was closed at the time, no one was in the building and there were no injuries to firefighters at the scene. There were, however, challenges in putting out the fire, Shuster said.
“Anytime you’re working with a repair shop, you don’t know what kind of flammables you are dealing with,” he said.
Firefighters had the fire extinguished about 2:30 a.m. Monday.
“The guys did a good job. They put the fire out pretty quickly,” Shuster said.
He said the building was damaged from both heat and smoke and that he did not believe the business would be able to operate in the building without repairs. The business did not answer the phone Monday morning.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Fire Safety Division of the state’s Fire Marshal’s Office.