Fire Destroys Stamford Auto Body Shop: FD

STAMFORD, CT — An auto body shop in the Shippan area of Stamford was destroyed by a fire on Thursday night, according to the Stamford Fire Department.

The Stamford 911 Dispatch Center received a call at 8:55 p.m. Thursday reporting heavy smoke in the 80 block of Wardwell Street.

Arriving units noticed smoke originating from a block north, and they diverted to Halloween Boulevard where an auto body shop was found with heavy smoke pushing out from the roofline with visible fire through the windows at the corner of Halloween Boulevard and St. Mary's Street, the SFD said in a news release.

Firefighters cut through fencing to gain access to the property and then had to cut through metal garage doors to get into the building, the SFD said.

"As crews advanced into the heavily congested body shop and began extinguishment efforts the well-developed fire began to burn through the roof and a 2nd alarm was struck bringing additional units to the scene," the SFD said. "A portion of the roof began to collapse and the Incident Commander ordered all crews to withdraw from the building and the firefighting strategy transitioned to a defensive attack mode."

The fire was eventually brought under control after approximately two hours, with final extinguishment taking an additional hour, the SFD said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Stamford Fire Marshal's office and the State of Connecticut Fire Marshal's office. Fire crews are remaining on scene to ensure a blaze doesn't reignite, particularly in the area where the roof collapsed, the SFD added.

Overall, approximately 50 firefighters responded to the scene.

No civilian or fire department injuries were reported.