City Fire Stops Traffic
Cab Company Blaze Creates Smoke Screen On Busy Street
Posted: February 6, 2013
Black smoke fills the sky from a fire at Royal Cab on South High Street Tuesday afternoon. Although the thick smoke caused disruption, there was no structural damage. (Photos by Nikki Fox / DN-R)
Harrisonburg firefighters work to contain a fire behind Royal Cab on South High Street Tuesday afternoon. The blaze was knocked down in about 10 minutes.
Firefighters with the Harrisonburg Fire Department were originally dispatched to Royal Cab and Limo at 954 S. High St. around 12:15 p.m. after an employee reported a vehicle was on fire.
But when firefighters arrived, there wasn’t a car fire.
“When the first engines got to the scene, there was a pile of debris on fire outside of the building,” said Chief Larry Shifflett. “It extended a little to the building but there was no structural damage.”
The fire was knocked down in about 10 minutes. Because there were tires in the debris pile, the fire created a large amount of thick, black smoke that could be seen several miles away.
No injuries were reported.
Shifflett said the business resumed operations after firefighters cleared the scene.
South High Street, from Maryland to South avenues, was closed in both directions for about 30 minutes as firefighters worked.
Contact Pete DeLea at 574-6278 or pdelea@dnronline.com