PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — More than 25 fire companies went to help extinguish a three-alarm fire at an auto body shop in Ambler Borough Thursday morning and afternoon.
"When you call this many resources, it is considered a major fire," said Wissahickon Fire Company Chief Jay Leadbeater. The fire engulfed several vehicles inside Ebner's Auto before it was put under control before 3 p.m.
The owner of the business has been hospitalized, but is expected to physically recover.
Video courtesy NBC10.
The fire happened at about 10 a.m. at the auto body shop, located at S. Main Street and Butler Pike near the Ambler SEPTA station. Drivers were advised to avoid the area.
Fire companies from all over Montgomery County responded because the fire was in a densely populated area, surrounded by buildings.
Some residents in the area were evacuated. Nearby buildings, including a deli, took on water damage.
Leadbeater said that in his six years, this is the biggest fire he has ever seen.
Firefighters, mostly from volunteer fire companies, spent about five hours fighting the fire before putting it under control.
Leadbeater said firefighters' first concern was to try and extinguish the fire inside the building, but within a half hour, flames became so big that they had to switch to a defensive mode.
"That's a command decision," he said. "Everybody's out. Property damage, who cares? All the trucks that are operating on the scene blow their air horns, so if somebody is in there firefighting, they know that the decision has been made to come out."
He added that fire crews wanted to give extra attention to extinguishing the fire because of what the building contained.
“It’s the auto body shop, and everything that was in there, cars, paints, lubricants, all that, we want to make sure that we don’t have to come back," Leadbeater said.
Officials extended the closure on Butler Avenue from Spring Garden Street to Morris Road because extra crews had hose lines stretched down the street to draw water from the nearby Wissahickon Creek to avoid additional strain on the water supply.
Regional rail service on SEPTA's Lansdale/Doylestown Line was suspended between Fort Washington and Doylestown. At about 2:30 p.m., fire crews moved equipment from off the tracks so that the line could re-start service, which it did at about 2:40 p.m.
Investigators will look into the cause of the fire.
