IN Auto Yard Blaze Destroys Dozens of Vehicles

A fire at an auto yard on the south side of Indianapolis early Wednesday damaged about 40 cars and took firefighters more than an hour and a half to control, according to the Indianapolis Fire Department.

The blaze began at 1:46 a.m., the fire department said in a tweet. Crews arrived to Insurance Auto Auctions in the 3200 block of South Harding Street — just south of the intersection with West Troy Avenue — "to find approximately 40 cars ablaze."

No injuries were reported in the incident, and firefighters used tankers to bring water deep into the auto yard, the department said.

IFD Battalion Chief Rita Reith hours after the fire said Insurance Auto Auctions' management "was looking into the possibility" a lightening strike sparked the blaze. Scattered thunderstorms that included lightning were in the Indianapolis area late Tuesday night, and the auto yard shut down at 6 p.m.

Photos tweeted by IFD from the scene show cars fully engulfed in flames. Smoke can be seen billowing from a number of cars near the center of the yard. Multiple people called police reporting the fire and "possible explosions," Reith said.

Those explosions were likely caused by magnesium product, tires and fuel tanks from the vehicles, according to officials.

The fire was under control by 3:26 a.m., the department said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

No additional information about the fire has been released.

Several days earlier a fire burned outside Hanna's Wrecker Services, a towing service and scrap metal recycler near Rolls-Royce's facilities on the southwest side.

A big pile of junk cars outside the business caught fire about 6 a.m. Saturday, according to the Wayne Township Fire Department. No one was at the business at the time and no injuries were reported. A cause for the fire had not been released as of Wednesday morning.

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