Firefighters converge on blaze at Camas auto shop

About 17 firefighters from two departments arrived at a blaze at 20111 S.E. 20th St. in Camas on Tuesday evening to find an automotive shop engulfed in flames through the roof.

Members of the Camas Fire Department and Vancouver Fire Department were called to the scene at 6:18 p.m. A 40-by-20-foot shop was ablaze, but firefighters stopped the flames before they spread to a house about 10 feet away, Camas Battalion Chief Mark Ervin said.

The main building was used for automotive work and contained three living areas. The occupants had exited safely.

There was an unconfirmed report that one person had been burned and sought medical care before firefighters arrived, Ervin said.

The building was unsafe for firefighters to enter, so they poured water on the blaze from outside.

The fire is believed to have started around a generator that was supplying power to the building. But it too was burned and it was hard to say exactly what went wrong with it, Ervin said.

In the end, the shop and its contents were destroyed. The damage estimate had not yet been determined late Tuesday night.