By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
THREE RIVERS — A fire at a local auto parts store Tuesday morning destroyed a garage building and a couple of cars.
According to Three Rivers Fire Department Assistant Chief Chad Witt, firefighters were called to Eagle Auto Parts on Wilbur Road near U.S. 131 in Three Rivers around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. When units got on scene, Witt said, there was fire through the roof and “structural compromise” of the shop portion of the building.
Firefighters were able to put out the fire, but the shop portion of the structure was lost. There was smoke and fire damage to the office portion of the building, whose structure remained intact. It destroyed a few cars that were in the garage at the time, but it otherwise did not spread past the building.
No injuries were reported in the fire, as Witt said no one was in the building at the time of the fire, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation. Witt said investigators are expected to be on scene Thursday.
The Three Rivers Fire Department was assisted by Fabius-Park Fire Department, Centreville Fire Department, Constantine Fire Department, White Pigeon Fire Department, South Kalamazoo County Fire Department, the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Office, St. Joseph County Central Dispatch, the Three Rivers Police Department, and St. Joseph County Victim Services.
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
