DOUGLASS (BERKS) >> A multi-alarm fire destroyed a steel commercial building and its contents at 56 Edge Hill Road Saturday afternoon.
Huge plumes of thick, black smoke rose hundreds of feet in the air and could be seen for miles throughout eastern Berks County, western Montgomery County and northern Chester County.
Firefighters were dispatched at 3:15 p.m. and upon arrival, firefighters reported the building was fully involved and everyone was out of the structure.
The owner of the property told fire officials at the scene that six classic cars were stored inside the building, according to Jeff Bealer, public information officer for Boyertown Area Fire & Rescue.
The owner managed to get two of the vehicles out, but the other four were destroyed in the fire, along with tools and equipment stored in the building.
Multiple explosions shooting flames high into the air were seen by the first arriving fire units, Bealer said.
Numerous barrels of waste oil stored behind the building became super heated and began exploding, sending flames up to 50 feet in the air and sometimes sending debris and shrapnel flying through the air, according to a post on the Boyertown Area Fire & Rescue website.
The building and its contents were a total loss. Damage was estimated at between $500,000 and $1 million.
The owner of the garage is a Snap On Tool dealer and a firefighter at the scene was told that there may have been as much as $500,000 worth of Snap On Tools in the garage at the time of the fire, according to the fire company’s website.
The intense heat from the garage fire melted vinyl siding and shingles on the main house on the property about 100 feet away.
Additional fire units from Montgomery and Chester counties were called to assist with the main fire while flames started a brush fire near a second home. Firefighters managed to contain the brush fire before it could damage the second home.
Four Boyertown Area Fire & Rescue firefighters sustained injuries – three while fighting the brush fire, according to the company’s website. One firefighter collapsed and was temporarily unconscious due to dehydration and smoke inhalation. He was transported by Bally Ambulance to Lehigh Valley Hospital near Allentown, where he was treated and admitted, according to the website.
Two of the firefighters were treated on scene by EMS for smoke inhalation and dehydration while another firefighter was injured with a laceration to his finger while moving equipment and treated by EMS at the scene.
The homeowner was injured while trying to get his vehicle out of the garage, according to firefighters.
He had burns to his hand and face and was taken to Patient First by his wife for treatment after the fire was extinguished.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, although firefighters believe it was accidental.
Due to the oil on scene, Mt. Penn Fire was dispatched for a Haz Mat response and they handle containment of scene, according to a post on the Boyertown Area Fire & Rescue website.
The Salvation Army Canteen was on scene providing food and drinks for the firefighters on scene.
