An afternoon fire Tuesday in Pittsboro scorched a building containing an automotive repair shop.
A fire started at New Age Automotive Repair, located off of U.S. 15-501, a few minutes before 2 p.m., according to Pittsboro Fire Chief Daryl Griffin. Griffin did not give a comment on what started the fire, pending investigation, but said the fire did not take long to extinguish.
Camp Oldham, who used to own the business and works next door, told the News + Record that the fire started in the two-stall automotive shop where mechanics were working. Oldham said mechanics were taking a gas tank down when a spark ignited the floor and then gas.
"It was a boom," Oldham said.
The fire was called in and was "pretty much out" and "under control" by around 3:10 p.m., Oldham said. He added that no one was seriously hurt, but one person had a minor burn to the back of his hand.
The office space next to the automotive shop still has a roof, but it was scorched by the flames. A construction machine was used to knock down an unstable wall from the building.
CNR's Chip Pate contributed to this report.