Fire at commercial building in Southington

Southington, Conn. (WTNH) - Firefighters were battling a fire at what's described as a commercial garage at 200 Clark Street.

Sitting in his office at Mortgage Master in Southington, Jim Earl simply had to see how this situation played out.

"We were worried about our personnel, when the explosion went off, get back from the windows, it's a little dangerous," Earl said.

As the intensity of the situation grew, one of Earl's employees ran to the roof and captured a video.

"There's windows on the side and the heat was so intense, it just looked like it was, rolling off it like plastic," he said.

The garage on Clark Street is rented by an auto club called Disturbed Image . That Clark Street address is also listed for Specialty Cleaning & Detailing , an auto detailing business.

"Muscle cars, hot-rods, all inside there. Gone," said Kyle Pflugbeil of Southington.

Parts of Jennifer Lynn Dr, Russell Rd, Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike and Clark St were all closed as a result of the fire, Southington police said.

Fire officials say no one was inside at the time of the fire, but the facility housed classic cars along with a tank of diesel fuel.

"This is actually the hang out, the club house, where we all help each other out, throughout the club, and this is what we lost, basically that whole connection," said Mike Sorrano, President of Disturbed Image.

The Meriden Record-Journal reports 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel was reportedly delivered to that building on Thursday. The tanks holding that fuel were not affected.

"There were some small explosions a propane tank had a little pop to it, there were tires that explodes, if your not used to it, they are very loud," said Fire Chief Harold Clark.

DEEP officials were on hand to help with some chemical cleanup, but the building is a loss.  

The cause is under investigation.  

Meanwhile, as the flames and smoke finally subsided, Earl was hoping to finally approve a few mortgages.

"It's a difficult day to get anything done, and we're really busy," he said. "It couldn't come at a worse time, people are waiting on their loans to close!"