Frigid temperatures and frozen fire hydrants made fighting a blaze in the 800 block of Buffalo Street difficult early this morning.
The Warsaw Fire Department was called around 5:45 a.m. today to the building at 802 S. Buffalo St., Warsaw, that houses Global Auto.
When firefighters arrived, the two-story section of the building was on fire. Ladder trucks from the Warsaw and Winona Lake fire departments were used to douse the fire from above as fire crews on the ground used hand lines to battle the blaze.
"One of our biggest problems," said Warsaw Chief of Inspections Mike Wilson, "was two frozen hydrants."
It took approximately half an hour to thaw the frozen hydrants.
Temperatures hovering in the single digits posed another problem for firefighters at the scene, so a rehab trailer was set up on the premises and the Multi-Township EMS was on standby to help personnel prevent frostbite.
"We were hampered by the cold," said Wilson who sported ice droplets on his mustache as he spoke at the scene of the fire.
Once firefighters got wet and/or cold, they were sent to the rehab trailer to warm up before continuing to fight the blaze.
After fire crews learned the building on fire was an auto repair shop, they called the Indiana Department of Emergency Management, the Warsaw Wastewater Treatment Department and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to help prevent fuel, oils or other chemicals from seeping into Eagle Creek, which is close to the business.
The wastewater treatment department provided "booms to stop the flow of fuel and oils and keep them from Eagle Creek," Wilson said.
"We were concerned with the potential contamination of the waterway," Wilson added.
Although under control, the fire was still burning at 11:20 a.m. today. Warsaw's ladder truck remained at the scene as firefighters prepared to remove a section of the building's roof to put out the fire.
Approximately six vehicles were in the building at the time of the blaze, and Wilson said the building sustained about $500,000 in damages, making it a total loss.
No one was injured in the fire.
Fire departments from Warsaw, Winona Lake, Leesburg and Pierceton responded to the fire.
