Auto repair shop destroyed in blaze

Thursday, May 15, 2008

By Josh Echt

A well-known automobile repair and sales shop in Auburn Township caught fire last Wednesday morning.

Two employees from Auburn Automotive escaped the flames, but the store's owner, Bud Skalsky, received on-scene treatment for burns on his right hand. Skalsky has owned the business, which includes automotive repair and pre-owned vehicle sales, since 1985.

A gas tank eruption caused the store, located at 10110 Washington St., to instantaneously catch on fire.

"I was there when it happened," Skalsky said. "I was involved in it happening. I got out because I let everything else burn. I didn't try to save anything."

Skalsky said he was in the process of drilling a hole in the gas tank of a Pontiac van he was working on when the gas leaked, catching fire. The van was in the shop for an engine problem and the gas tank was in the process of being replaced.

Auburn Fire Chief John Phillips said Skalsky was lucky not to suffer any serious injuries.

"He was able to get away in time and suffered some burns, but nothing major," Phillips said. "We didn't have to transport him to the hospital."

The fire destroyed three vehicles inside the garage, including an all-terrain vehicle, and two parked outside. One of the vehicles in the fire even belonged to his friend, a newspaper deliveryman, Skalsky said.

"He always delivers me my newspaper," he joked.

Phillips said the department was able to protect several cars parked outside the building from further damage.

"They were able to survive also because they were far enough away from the fire that we could do something about it," he said. "They were 10 feet away, but we were able to spray them with water while we knocked the fire down."

Auburn Automotive's 2,800-square-foot facility included four garage bays, three vehicle lifts and complete electronic diagnostic equipment.

"We have everything necessary to service a vehicle," Skalsky said. "It's a full-service garage."

Phillips said the building is a total loss, even though he does not have damage estimates available at the time.

"That includes vehicles and tools and equipment," Phillips said.

He said the fire, which involved gasoline, rubber and oil combustion, requires different skills and methods to fight compared with a standard wood or paper fire.

"Gas, oil, rubber (fires) are much worse," Phillips said. "It makes it more difficult because it adds a considerable amount of flammables to the picture. We got there pretty quick and it was pretty much fully involved. A gasoline fire starts fast."

The department got the page at 10:02 a.m. and its first unit arrived on scene at 10:08 a.m. The department took three hours to contain the fire and didn't arrive back to its station until 2:30 p.m. Other departments that assisted Auburn Township's squad included Chagrin Falls, Bainbridge, Russell, Burton, Parkman, Troy, Hiram, Mantua-Shalersville, Aurora and Newbury.

"The mutual aid was incredible and invaluable," Phillips said. "We couldn't have done it without the help of all of these agencies."

Sheriff's deputies closed Washington Street between the Bainbridge Road-Washington Street intersection and The Pond ice rink, located at 9999 East Washington St. until mid-afternoon.

Skalsky said he was disappointed at the fire department's response time.

"They went to the wrong address first," he added. "Then they took time because (Assistant Fire Chief Michael) Cardaman had to tell one of his firefighters to move a vehicle because Cardaman didn't like the position it was in."

Skalsky told Cardaman if his firefighters were not trained to move the vehicles properly or quickly then they should go back into training.

"I told them to go back into training," Skalsky said. "He said, 'Look, don't raise your voice to me. They are trained.' But every few minutes count when it comes to fighting a fire and being able to salvage things."

Phillips said the department moved the vehicle at Cardaman's request because it had to be in the proper position to fight the fire. The structure already was engulfed when Auburn units arrived.

"If he would've left it where it was, then it'd be more inefficient," Phillips said. "We would've had to move it regardless, due to the hazardous nature of the fire."

He said Skalsky's response to Cardaman may have been fueled by adrenaline.

"When people lose their livelihoods then they become upset," he said. "When they're stressed things happen. Someone will say, 'It took you an hour to get here,' when in reality it's only a few minutes.

"I've been with the department 32 years," Phillips added. "Minutes seem like hours in these kinds of situations. It's the adrenaline."

He said the department initially responded with a single engine and three firefighters. Cardaman drove from his house directly to the fire upon being notified. But the department already had notified mutual aid after the dispatch center at the sheriff's office received Skalsky's call.

"The dispatchers notified us about what kind of fire we had," Phillips said. "Bud (Skalsky) was perturbed over the issue of why the dispatcher was tying him up on the phone with all these questions."

Phillips said three to four additional dispatchers listen in on a standard 9-1-1 call to the initial dispatcher, who records the information. The three to four additional dispatchers are simultaneously paging mutual aid agencies, he stressed.

"People think nothing's happening and ask if people are being paged," Phillips said. "They are being paged, and the questions dispatchers ask are very pertinent."

The property contains a 1,404-square-foot house adjacent to the garage on two acres. The property, including the commercial garage, is valued at $225,000, according to the Geauga County Auditor's Office Web site.

The property the garage sits upon is listed as 10106 East Washington St., even though the garage is technically located at 10110 East Washington St.

Skalsky said his building was not insured. He said he dropped the insurance on the building because everything was paid for.

"It was an extra waste of money, I thought at the time," he added. "But that was my neglect. All that's left from this is tears.

"We're starting to clean up the mess," Skalsky said. "Then we're going to see what it costs to rebuild."

The incident is still under investigation, Phillips added.

Departments involved in fighting blaze:

Auburn

Bainbridge

Russell

Burton

Parkman

Chagrin Falls

Troy

Aurora (Portage)

Hiram (Portage)

Newbury

Mantua-Shalersville (Portage)