Fire destroys car dealership in Dutton, impacts downtown

A massive fire at a car dealership in Dutton has destroyed the business and forced the closure of part of the southwestern Ontario town's main street. 

Emergency crews were called to the Cotrac Ford Lincoln dealership on Currie Road just before 10 p.m. ET Wednesday night and found the sales centre at the business fully engulfed in flames, said Don MacLeod, the interim chief administrative officer in Dutton. 

"It's a nice modern-looking building that's been refurbished, and when I drove in this morning, the structure is virtually destroyed. There's bits and pieces standing, but it looks like a complete loss." 

Dutton has over 4,000 residents and is southwest of London. 

The dealership is in the centre of the town, across the street from the building that houses municipal offices, and is an integral part of the community, MacLeod added. 

"Our thoughts are with all the families that have workers there. We're very grateful that no lives were lost," he said. 

The cause of the fire is under investigation. 

Fire crews from nearby communities, including West Elgin, Southwold, and Central Elgin, came to help Dutton Dunwich firefighters. 

One firefighter from West Elgin was sent to hospital with an injured shoulder and has since been released, said Barry Gregory said, Dutton Dunwich's deputy fire chief.

As fire crews arrived three minutes after being alerted to the fire, the flames were already spreading, said Gregory.

The fire was traced to the showroom, he added. 

'Lots of explosions'

"We sent fire crews in and they made their way to the reception area and the showroom, where the desk is to greet customers.

"There was something from the ceiling that was on fire, so they put that out and saw there was some fire in the wall. When they worked their way up to the second floor, they were overcome by the heat and pulled back, and a second crew took over," Gregory said. 

The ceiling in the first-floor showroom began falling, so crews had to leave.

"It was deep-seeded into the walls and broke through te roof. At that time, it was a defensive attack for the rest of the fire." 

The fire also spread to the mechanical shop, where tires were popping and aerosol cans were exploding, Gregory added.

"Lots of explosions. In the shop, there's lots of acetylene torches, fuels, gas, and aerosol cans and tires." 

A 12-unit apartment building west of the dealership was evacuated late Wednesday night because of heavy smoke in the area and the chance that the fire could spread to nearby buildings. Residents who had nowhere to go were sent to the town's community centre and permitted to return home at 5 a.m. Thursday.