ALMA (KFSM) -- Alma fire crews were hard at work Tuesday morning (April 28) as an auto plex went up in flames.
The Auto Plex Collision Repair shop is located on Commerce Drive behind Braum's. Crews arrived on the scene around 5:30 a.m. and stayed until the hot spots were under control. It took about an hour to battle the flames, according to the fire chief. The fire was contained to the office area, which is essentially destroyed, according to the owners.
Firefighters said there was no one in the building at the time of the fire and no one was injured.
5NEWS spoke with the owner, Danny Kimes, who says he has owned the Auto Plex Collision Repair shop for about 20 years and this particular building was built in 2006. Kimes says the business is insured and they intend to rebuild.
Fire Chief Eddie Wakefield said there was some remodeling work going on, and the fire was caused from welding work on an interior wall. Wakefield said they expect to serve customers on the collision-repair side by the end of the week.
"In the next few days we'll be setting up temporary facilities to go ahead and take care of our customers until we can get the main buildings built back basically," Kimes said.
He said most of the customers' cars were outside at the time of the fire. He doesn't think any of their cars are damaged, but said staff members are still evaluating that.
His accessory shop next door was still open for business on Tuesday.
