Flames shot 80 feet into the sky above a Brantford neighbourhood Monday morning.
Firefighters were called to Thorpe Auto Parts and Wreckers, at Maitland and Durham streets, in the area of Elgin and Rawdon streets, shortly before 1 a.m.
“Once we arrived on scene … we saw a fairly large fire,” said Scott Hardwick, a fire prevention officer with the Brantford Fire Department.
Dozens of vehicles in the southeast corner of the wrecking yard were aflame, as were trees and brush along a nearby rail line.
The vehicles, which were destined to be demolished and sold, were piled multiple cars high on the lot.
“They were piled there for storage until they could get crushed down,” said Hardwick.
“All the batteries had been removed. All the gas cans were emptied.”
Firefighters were able to stop the highest of the flames, but remained on scene well into Monday morning to douse hotspots.
Imad Yassan, one of the co-owners of Forbes, said he was relieved the fire was stopped before flames could make their way to salvageable vehicles or the office building, although that the fire happened at all remains a concern.
“It’s very frustrating – just to wake up in the morning and have your business on fire. It’s scary,” he told CTV News.
Officials estimate that between 80 and 100 vehicles were lost to the flames.
No injuries were reported, but firefighters went door-to-door in the surrounding residential neighbourhood, waking residents and alerting them to the situation.
“They came knocking on the door, telling us to come out of the house and keep an eye on the roof for embers,” said Dean Turvey, who lives nearby and reported hearing “loud pops” that could have been explosions.
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
