SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – An overnight fire has damaged a car repair shop and a window tint business that occupied the same South Side building.
A passerby noticed the flames around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday and called 911, according to the San Antonio Fire Department.
Within minutes, more than a dozen fire units had arrived at the site along the Interstate 35 access road near W. Mayfield.
“The first unit found heavy fire coming out of a commercial building,” said Battalion Chief Andy Deason with SAFD. “They fought the fire from the outside.”
Deason said they were able to make quick work of knocking down the flames.
The fire erupted in a building that houses Car Land Automotive as well as a window tint shop. Both were closed at the time.
“The inside of the building is very clean, well-kept businesses on both sides. So it made it very easy for us to get a handle on this fire,” Deason said.
Building with 2 businesses erupts in flames; arson investigating, San Antonio firefighters say
Still, the fire did manage to cause quite a bit of damage. Deason said it caused the roof to collapse in and also burned the building’s framing.
He initially said there was not much damage to the interior of the building.
However, daylight revealed that the area inside the auto shop was blackened.
An SUV inside one of the repair bays and a toolbox also appeared to be damaged.
A woman told KSAT 12 News off-camera that her family owns both businesses and said the damaged vehicle belonged to a customer who left it for repairs.
She said investigators told her the fire started in the office of the auto repair shop.
The unidentified woman was not able to say exactly when either business might reopen, but she promised that they would continue operating.
Arson investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire.