Fire At Speedway Auto Parts: 'We Were Very Lucky'

JOLIET, IL — Speedway Auto Parts has been on Joliet's east side for more than 50 years and Tuesday night's fire in the auto salvage yard left business owner Sean Krause thankful that the fire wasn't worse.

The fire was contained to the auto salvage yard where Speedway recycles car parts. An estimated 200 to 300 crushed cars were damaged in the fire that began shortly before 7 p.m. Speedway is at 1301 Herkimer St., right off Collins Street and adjacent to the sprawling concrete fortress known as the Old Joliet Prison.

Speedway's main building, encompassing 72,000 square feet, sustained no damage from the fire, remarked Sean Krause, who runs the business with his father, Paul.

Sean Krause walked Joliet Patch's editor around the property Wednesday morning, showing where the fire originated. Besides Speedway, he and his father also own the Ashley's U-Pick-A-Part store on Collins Street.

Between their two locations, the father-and-son family business has about 30 employees, Sean Krause said. According to its website,"Speedway Is Chicagoland's Premier Supplier Of Used Auto Parts"

Krause stressed that there were no tires that caught on fire. The vehicles involved in Tuesday night's fire were already crushed and had their tires removed. Speedway Auto Parts recycles about 2,500 cars annually.

"You can still smell it," Krause remarked Wednesday morning as he walked the property.

Patch asked Krause if the investigators determined why the fire happened.

"We have no idea," he said.

The preliminary investigation from investigators at the Joliet Fire Department and Joliet Police Department was that the cause of the fire is undermined, he said.

One of his employees spotted the fire on the property and called 911, he said.

Krause said this was the first fire at Speedway Auto Parts. The secluded property encompasses about 10 acres and the perimeter of the business is surrounded by concrete walls. A small portion of the concrete wall was scorched by Tuesday night's raging flames.

"We're family owned and this is our 52nd year," he said. "The Joliet Fire Department and the police department, they did fantastic. They always do, both police and fire. They protect us."

Overall, Sean Krause said that he is fortunate that Tuesday night's fire wasn't worse.

"We were very lucky," he said. "Everyone was safe. We've been on the east side since 1966. We try to keep to ourselves and run a good small business. We're just a small business in a tough market. It hasn't been easy for anybody that's a small (business) owner."

Since Tuesday night's blaze, Krause said he's had a lot of people call and ask him if he needs any help. "I've had a lot of people reach out in the positive. They hear 'fire' and think the whole building caught on fire. Just stress that we're lucky."

Patch asked if he was contemplating the notion of having a GoFundMe to help out. "No GoFundMe," he replied.

To read Joliet Patch's breaking news coverage of Tuesday's fire at Speedway Auto Parts, go here.