Car salvage building, lot catches fire on Dean Forest Rd.

GARDEN CITY, GA (WTOC) - A car salvage building and lot caught fire in Garden City, shutting down a busy road for hours and messing up the schedules for drivers and about 75 students.

The smoke could be seen for miles. Thursday night, all is clear but crews were working into the dark to make sure the fire was completely out.

"It was a seamless operation with five, six different agencies. It was awesome," said Garden City Fire Chief Corbin Medeiros.

Garden City Fire, Pooler Fire, Southside Fire and Savannah Fire teaming up to battle the blaze at Shining Star One, Inc. on Prosperity Drive. The building, a total loss.

"There was a couple propane tanks that popped off. Pretty much everything inside was fully engulfed when we got here. Walls, ceiling, everything," said Medeiros.

Chief Medeiros says flames were coming out of every window and door. He tells us in the 12 years he's been on the job, local agencies have never come together like this to put out a massive fire.

"A great cooperation between every municipality and every agency that was around," said Chief Medeiros. "It started to spread into the tree line and we stopped it before it got to Dean Forest."

They stopped it before it got to Dean Forest, but the road was still shut down for hours, forcing drivers to find an alternate route.  For people working in the area, many witnessed the whole thing.

"When the car was blowing up over there, it just shook the whole ground over here," said Jimmy Williams, who works near Garden City fire site.

"Flames were way up in there. They were up in there probably 25-30 feet above the building," said Jerome Irwin, who also works near the scene.

It's still too early to determine exactly what caused the fire. And while the business and many cars are a total loss, there's still plenty to be thankful for.

"I'm above ground, so doing good," Irwin said.

Officials with the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System tell us all re-rerouted students were picked up from Garden City Elementary right around 7 p.m.

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