Fire ignites at Orange U-Haul facility

Orange, Conn. (WTNH) - A fire erupted at a local U-Haul facility in Orange, stopping traffic and sending area firefighters scrambling.

The blaze broke out shortly after 3 p.m. on Saturday, at the U-Haul facility located at 174 Boston Post Rd. It took place in the garage area, where the mechanics work.

With the fire just off Route 1, firefighters had to battle holiday shopping traffic, before they could battle the blaze.

"People don't know that when you hear sirens and lights move to the right," said Orange Fire Chief Charlie Gagel. "They are just in a world of their own, thinking about the bargains they're gonna get, ya know, it puts property in danger when they don't get out of our way."

Firefighters say they were fortunate that they were able to contain the fire to the first two bays of the garage, as there were several highly flammable tanks in neighboring bays.

"Luckily, the fire was quickly extinguished within a half hour," said Chief Gagel, "but as you've seen the tanks inside with the propane and acetylene and oxygen, those were our main concerns when we found them."

Additionally, Chief Gagel said the situation could have ended in a propane explosion, which would've taken down half the building.

There were a couple workers inside, but no one was injured.

After the preliminary investigation, firefighters believe that fumes could have built up while employees were taking fuel out of one truck and putting it into another, and ignited.

At this time, the fire is being considered accidental.