Blaze destroys buildings, vehicles at Longview car dealership
LONGVIEW, Wash. – A fire set off a series of explosions as it destroyed two buildings and multiple vehicles overnight at a Longview car dealership.
Firefighters from Longview and Cowlitz 2 Fire and Rescue responded to a fire at Triangle Motors in the 1000 block of Washington Way at 10:33 p.m. Wednesday.
Triangle Motors sells used vehicles and have two buildings on site, an office and a repair garage.
When Longview Fire arrived, they found a fully-involved commercial building with several cars on fire.
Crews attacked the fire from a distance with hand lines, a deck gun and twin nozzles off the ladder truck’s extended aerial platform. There were several explosions while firefighters worked to extinguish the flames. Investigators say the explosions were mostly caused by tires, but a fuel tank also failed and caused gasoline to spill under a vehicle and ignite.
Crews controlled the fire in 90 minutes and performed an extensive overhaul due to the flammable contents in the repair garage.
At the time of the fire, there were about 30 vehicles and one boat on the lot. At least 10 vehicles and the boat were destroyed in the fire.
The owner of Triangle Motors was at the scene during the fire and told investigators he was in the repair garage when he saw the office covered in flames. He escaped before the fire spread to the repair garage.
Both buildings suffered extensive damage and are total losses. The two neighboring businesses, Domino’s Pizza and Muchas Gracias, were not damaged by the fire. However, Domino’s was evacuated.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Officials say no one was injured.
