Blaze at Toyota of Watertown Injures a Firefighter, Damages a Car in the Garage

Watertown firefighters battled a blaze that began in the garage at Toyota of Watertown Thursday morning, and one member of the department went to the hospital for stitches.

A fire alarm went off at about 5:30 a.m. Thursday morning when a fire began on the third floor of the garage of the auto dealer at 149 Arsenal Street, said Fire Chief Mario Orangio.

“The fire itself was not too bad, but the conditions made it a little hairy,” Orangio said. “It is not a huge area, but there are a number of cars in there and it becomes a little of a concern. Car fires have a lot of smoke and it is an enclosed space so it got trapped in there with the heat.”

The sprinklers went off, which helped contain the damage, Orangio said. Fire crews made a hole in the roof and knocked open some windows to ventilate the smoke, Orangio said.

Fire officials believe the incident was an electrical fire that started on a piece of equipment used to detail cars, Orangio said.

One firefighter was taken to the hospital to get stitches, Orangio said.

The damage was largely contained to one car and the area where it was parked, Orangio said.

“The owner got there shortly after we did and he was happy we were able to contain the fire,” Orangio said.