No injuries were reported in a construction-related fire at a Columbus, Ohio Ford Dealership earlier this month that took about an hour to extinguish and caused over $1 million in damages. Fire crews reported to the scene at Germain Ford, located at 7250 Sawmill Road, shortly after 11am and had the fire contained just before noon.
Initial investigations believe that the fire started on the roof of the facility during construction. While some workers were clearing out a vacant area of the building, other workers were using a power saw on the rubberized roof. Investigators first believed sparks from the saw either ignited insulation below. However, investigators later remarked that construction workers spilled gasoline while refueling the power saw on the rubberized roof.
Most of the fire damage was contained to the parts department. While the area itself was mostly vacant, it was still used to house valuable parts. There is also water and smoke damage elsewhere in the facility.
According to Bill Ehrgood of the Columbus Division of Fire, the fire had the potential to be much worse. “The garage portion has many cars in there with fuel in the fuel tanks that could have caused a second fire or even an explosion,” Ehrgood stated.
Owner of the dealership, Rick Germain, stated that the fire broke out in an area of the facility that was scheduled to be demolished soon, however, there were parts of the building that will probably now need to be taken down sooner than planned.