Gagne later spoke with Stan, the owner of the shop, who said he was not at the store when the fire broke out. “And the smoke … I could tell it was fully involved.” “There were flames coming through the roof,” she said. Gagne said she was told to stay put but be prepared to evacuate. “I just looked out the front of the store and saw all the trucks,” she said of the responding fire units. 12th Ave., next door to Stan’s Auto Repair. MAC Custom Pools and Aluminum is located at 1020 S.E. Kathy Gagne, an employee of MAC Custom Pools and Aluminum, was working alone in the office when she heard the sirens Thursday morning. “But it never got to that,” he said, adding that the propane tank may not have been full. Heikkila estimated that the tank was at least 1,000 gallons. Responders were able to contain the fire to the initial structure, though firefighters had to secure a large propane tank located next to the shop’s property to protect it from the fire and prevent it from possibly exploding. “The building was a complete loss,” she said. The fire was ruled accidental following an investigation by the fire department. “When you get something burning for that big for that long, it’s gone for sure,” he said at the scene.Ĭity spokeswoman Connie Barron said the fire caused about $550,000 in damage and was caused by a spark near a fuel tank under a lift inside the building. Heikkila estimated that the damage was a “total loss.” It took about 30 minutes to put out the fire, and seven units from five fire stations responded to the call. “It wasn’t safe to send anyone into the structure,” Heikkila said.Īn employee from the shop reported that the building was empty, he said.įour vehicles inside the structure were “fully engulfed,” along with office storage materials. Crews were placed at the front and back of the building to battle the fire, but no one went inside it. When firefighters arrived on scene the building was “fully engulfed in flames,” said Division Chief Jim Heikkila of the Cape Coral Fire Department.Īt least 22 firefighters, plus some off-duty personnel who responded to the scene, went into defensive mode, he said. at Stan’s Auto Repair, located at 1024 S.E. No one was injured, according to officials.Ĭape fire units responded to a call of a commercial structure fire at 10:17 a.m. A fire gutted an automotive repair shop Thursday morning in southeast Cape Coral, causing more than $550,000 in damages, officials said.
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