Early morning fire destroys auto body in Sedalia
SEDALIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
EDITOR'S NOTE: The amount of time it took firefighters to arrive has been corrected.
An early Tuesday morning fire in Sedalia destroyed a body shop and damaged neighboring buildings.
Sedalia Fire Chief Greg Harrell said in a news release the fire at the corner of E. Main Street and N. Washington Avenue was called out around 4:33 a.m. and crews arrived several minutes later.
Harrell said four adjacent buildings were damaged in the blaze.
The fire chief included 14 vehicles, a motorhome, two forklifts and a skid steer were destroyed in the fire.
One resident reported seeing 'mushroom clouds' of smoke and fire just after firefighters arrived on scene.
No one was hurt in the fire, crews said.
Crews said Martinez Body Shop burned to the ground in the fire. According to the press release, firefighters were able to put out the initial blaze in 20 minutes.
The Martinez Body Shop owners can be reached at (660) 287-9731.
ABC 17 saw fire crews at the scene just after 9 a.m., still dumping water on the smoldering building. Firefighters from the Pettis County Fire Protection District were called to the area as well.
A Sedalia man whose family previously owned the building said the auto body had been a lumber mill for years and that it had burnt down in the 1950s.
As of Tuesday morning, it's unclear what started the fire. Workers inside the building say they saw fire going up the sides and ceiling of ths business when the fire alarm went off, Harrell said in the release.
