SWEETWATER, Texas — A weekend fire at Sweetwater Collision left at least 50 homes and businesses without power and a business owner left to pick up the pieces.
At 8:13 p.m. Saturday, the Sweetwater Fire Department received a call about a structure fire on West Broadway Street. When the department arrived three minutes after the call, the building was fully engulfed in flames.
“We worked on it from the time we arrived till about 2:15 am. Once we were actually able to get it down enough we sent our units home. Then we kept two units out here all night that were just fighting spot fires on a home,” Sweetwater Fire Marshal James Smith said.
A press release from the City of Sweetwater said the Lake Sweetwater and Roscoe volunteer fire departments and Snyder Fire Department all worked the scene. The Texas Department of Transportation provided traffic barricades.
Crews stayed on the scene until approximately 2 a.m. until the fire was contained. Additional crews remained on scene until approximately 7 a.m. to monitor hot spots, which were still smoldering Monday morning.
The owner of Sweetwater Collision Center didn’t want to be interviewed, but did mention he was in shock and isn’t sure where to go from here. Everything in his building, including vehicles and equipment, was completely destroyed, according to Smith.
Businesses and homes in the surrounding area were without power for hours and had to rely on generators for electricity in the meantime. Fire officials are investigating the cause of the fire and will be putting out any spot fire that may ignite.
There were no reported injuries related to the fire.
