DAVIE, Fla.
--
Investigators are working to determine whether a fire that burned for hours at a Davie junkyard early Wednesday was the result of arson.
The fire broke out just after midnight at U Pull It at 4301 South State Road 7.
Firefighters from several agencies helped Davie firefighters put out the fire, which started in a stack of cars. The flames were so intense that they lit the nighttime sky.
"(It was) a very tight-knit space, but it was contained to what was on fire from the point of our arrival," said Davie Fire Chief Andrew Poppick.
Just before 5 a.m. the fire was still smoldering and Local 10 reporter Terrell Forney reported seeing smoke covering several lanes of traffic on State Road 7, however, no lanes were closed.
Vehicles at the business, which strips cars of usable parts and then crushes what is left, fueled the fire for more than six hours. When the smoke cleared, it was apparent that hundreds of stripped-down vehicles had been burned.
"What was difficult was just being able to get the bulk of the fire knocked down to be able to safely get the front-end loaders in to be able to move those vehicles to be able to hit the hot, the hidden fires that were contained in the vehicles. That's what made it difficult," Poppick said.
The state fire marshal's office is investigating the cause of the fire.
The owner said he believes it could be a case of arson, adding that his business was torched 15 years ago, but no suspect was ever arrested. The owner told Local 10 he has had problems in the past with competitors trying to ruin his business.
There are security cameras at the junkyard, but the fire broke out in an area where there were no cameras at a time when no employees were around.
No injuries were reported.
The junkyard remains open.
Copyright 2010 by Post-Newsweek Stations.
All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten
or redistributed
