Construction company catches fire

GRANBY, Conn. (WTNH) - It took hours for crews to battle a dangerous fire in Granby.

When firefighters got to Pierce Builders Headquarters the flames had already traveled to the roof of the building.

Crews had to pull back because there was diesel fuel, gas, propane and mixed gasses for welding inside of the building when the fire started

"It's a construction company, so anything they have to work on their vehicles, it could have been oxygen for torches, it could have been any number of things, but no one got hurt and we didn't have to go inside the building, it was a defensive attack," said Granby Fire Chief Erik Davis.

Flames were nipping at the already charred oil tanks. It took hours for the flames to be put out.

"The fire alarm went off and then we saw smoke pouring out of the building, and the owner Brian said everybody get out," said Mark Whitty of Granby.

Whitty was in the building when the alarm went off.

The workers ran to nearby buildings where they worked to save the rest of Pierce Builders Construction Company.

"We started emptying out some of the other equipment out of the other building on both ends, trying to save it.The flames were quite high for a time here, and as the building collapsed the building started getting smaller," said Whitty.

Pierce Builders have been building in Granby for 35 years. They are a well respected company, and the owners have always helped others by letting the town keep heavy equipment in their garages free. That is why when the main building went up in flames, people from all over town came running to see if they could help.

"it is a lot of damage in there, I don't know it's crazy," said Patrick Flynn of Granby.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.