WASHINGTON CITY — Emergency personnel responding to a report of several cars burning saw two engines dispatched by the Washington City Fire Department on Tuesday.
Although thick black smoke from the fire could be seen from Leeds, only one of the responding engines was needed to quickly douse the blaze that began at approximately 11:45 a.m.
Capt. Julio Reyes told St. George News that employees at Dixie Auto Salvage on Washington Dam Road were moving salvaged vehicles around the lot when the top one on a stack of cars burst into flames.
“We don’t know if it was a battery in one of them or sparks from the equipment,” Reyes said. “Anyway, the one on the top of the stack that they were grabbing caught fire.”
Employees were able to separate the pile of salvaged cars before the fire department arrived, leaving the firefighters with the pile spread out, Reyes said.
“Really all we had to deal with was a pile of rubble that was on fire,” he said.
One salvage worker was treated on scene by Gold Cross Ambulance but declined transport to the hospital as a result of the incident.
No firefighters were injured during the suppression efforts and property damage was limited to junk cars, Reyes said.
Dixie Auto Salvage employee Kate Wade told St. George News they suspect a battery exploded in the top vehicle. Reyes said the cause of the multiple-vehicle fire is still under investigation.
St. George News reporter Stephanie DeGraw contributed to this report.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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