G-Man Toyota Specialist repair shop in Memphis, TN, was destroyed by fire on Thursday, March 4. Lt. Wayne Cooke from the Memphis Fire Department told Channel 3 news: “That fuel tank fell and fuel was spilled on the floor and at the same time a drop light also fell on the floor and ignited.”
Below is the article as it appeared in the WREG Channel 3 website.
By Candace McCowan
11:48 AM CST, March 4, 2010
(Memphis, TN) — "Oh just get out, pretty dangerous. Yeah I just had to get out."
That was the reaction of owner of the G-Man Toyota Specialist Repair shop Mike German when his shop went up in flames. He was alone in the shop when he says a chain reaction created the fire.
"That fuel tank fell and fuel was spilled on the floor and at the same time a drop light also fell on the floor and ignited," said Lt. Wayne Cooke from Memphis Fire.
A cloud of smoke filled the air of the auto shop as fire fighters arrived on scene shortly before 8 this morning. It took 40 firefighters close to an hour to get the fire under control because of the cars and gasoline in side the building.
"Initially we fought this fire from the exterior of the structure due to the intensity of the fire," added Cooke.
Inside the building, German says there were close to a dozen client vehicles. He estimates more than a quarter million dollars in damages. Even employee Luis Morales was shocked at how quickly this building went up in flames, "Computers, tools, everything man."
Even after watching his business of 15 years go up in flames, German is confident this will not be the end of G-Man Toyota Specialist, "It’s hard to watch but I know we can rebuild, we can come back."
German says he does have insurance.
Memphis Fire in investigating the fire.
To read this article on the WREG Channel 3 website, visit http://www.wreg.com/news/wreg-auto-shop-fire,0,7829689.story.
