More than 100 firefighters were on the scene of a Monday morning fire at Witczak Bros. Auto Repair at 701 Putnam St. in Peru.
The cause of the fire is currently unknown, but Peru Fire Chief Jeff King believes it may have started due to an oil burn.
As the area near the structure became engulfed in smoke, Peru police set up a perimeter of two blocks in every direction, allowing crews to fight the flames and prevent damage to other buildings.
“Our biggest fear was that the building to the north was our exposed building and that contains a lot of our infrastructure for the city,” King said. He adds, “We worked hard to keep that exposure protected, which we were able to do.”
There were no injuries reported. Witczak Bros. Auto Repair was a complete loss.
Both the Peru fire and police departments will update the public of any new details at 8 a.m. Wednesday.
