Firefighters Called To East Side Auto Shop

Multiple 911 callers reported thick black smoke coming from a property behind the 2300 block of S. Stoughton Road, prompting a full structure fire response from the Madison Fire Department.

As companies responded to the scene, dispatchers relayed to firefighters that the fire had just been extinguished.

There was nothing showing when Engine Company 5 arrived on scene, but there were several people gathered in the rear of an auto repair and detailing business. A gas tank belonging to an automobile was lying on the cement.

Employees tell firefighters they removed the gas tank from an older-model Chevy Blazer and were attempting to drain approximately four gallons of gasoline from it. To empty the tank, one employee attempted to drill a hole in it and ignited the fuel in the process. Employees quickly put out the fire using a dry chemical extinguisher prior to Engine 5’s arrival. Firefighters then cooled the tank with a garden hose supplied by employees and placed Oil Dry around the tank where fuel had spilled.

Nobody reported any injuries resulting from this incident. A supervisor told firefighters they do not normally use a drill for this type of process, and they're not sure why it was attempted.