A two-alarm fire erupted Sunday at what is believed to be an abandoned auto repair shop in Mulberry, officials said.
- No injuries reported
- No one was inside building
- Fire marshal to investigate
The fire started just before 6 a.m. at a building located at 3845 State Road 60, according to Polk County firefighters.
Chemicals inside the building caused additional explosions, officials said.
"There's a neighborhood to the rear of the structure, and that was of our main concern, that this does not spread into that area," said Battalion Chief Eric Johnson. "So we quickly put hose lines in place to defend the neighborhood."
No one was inside the building at the time of the fire and no one was reported injured, according to officials.
Angelica Martinez and her family watched as the flames grew only yards away from their home.
"We were watching the fire as it was taking down the building," said Martinez. "It was pretty big."
Martinez recorded video of the flames on her phone. "We were thinking about moving the car, because it was so close to the fire and then we saw the firefighters come," she said. "It was kind of scary."
The fire caused State Road 60 to close in both directions.
It took crews about an hour to put out the fire.
The fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.