PASSAIC -- A freak accident on Tuesday touched off a fire that heavily damaged an auto body shop that is partly owned by Passaic's acting police chief, Richard Diaz.
The blaze at Lenox Auto Sales on Passaic Street started around 4:30 p.m. as workers were removing gasoline from a car that was being repaired. A drop light fell to the shop floor and the bulb smashed, causing the gasoline to ignite, Fire Chief Patrick Trentacost said.
The workers escaped without injury, but the fire tore through two of the six garages on the property and went to two alarms, Trentacost said. It took firefighters about an hour to douse the flames, which destroyed one car and damaged two others.
-- Richard Cowen
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