Cheshire Fire Department Assists at Southington Inferno

A heavy fire engulfed an industrial garage just over the Southington town line Thursday afternoon causing extensive damage to the building at 200 Clark St. Southington Fire Chief Harold "Buddy" Clark said the building was “without a doubt, a complete loss.”

The fire broke out just after noon and spread through the building by the time firefighters arrived. Flames shot through the roof and a plume of smoke could be seen from several miles away.

Crews battled the blaze for over an hour, preventing it from spreading to the historic Clark Bros. Bolt Company which houses Signature Advertising.

were called to the scene as back up and assisted with the initial response.

Early concerns led the to evacuate some of the surrounding buildings, Clark said.

“There was a 2,000 gallon drum of diesel fuel and it had just been filled today, so our guys had to work quickly around that,” Clark said. “It doesn’t appear the fuel was affected by the fire.” No one was injured, he said.

The garage housed custom cars, said Ryan Bailey, a member of a truck club that  used the building to customize vehicles. A Ford low-rider truck and a custom-built Toyota Scion were apparantly lost in the fire, he said.

Members of the club called "Disturbed Image," meet after work daily and some weekends, Bailey said. The Southington club is one of three in Connecticut and Rhode Island. It has participated in a Meriden car show each summer to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Meriden.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation and Clark said, at this point, there is no known point of origin.