SOUTH BEND — A large fire on South Main Street Friday destroyed several cars at an auto scrapyard, as black smoke billowed into the blue sky high enough to be seen from downtown.
Firefighters as of Friday afternoon did not know what caused the blaze at Indiana Auto Parts, 3300 S. Main St. Employees at the business declined comment.
Initial reports indicated that between 10 to 20 vehicles were on fire behind the business on the city’s south side, South Bend Fire Department Battalion Chief Mark Catanzarite reported.
Catanzarite said it was unclear how the blaze started; no injuries were reported.
The fire was first noticed by South Bend firefighters returning to the central fire station on South Michigan Street about 2:50 p.m. An hour later, smoke could still be seen rising from the site.
Catanzarite said the vehicles that were on fire are ones being salvaged for parts.
He said the cars could have caused the fire to spread more rapidly.
"It depends on what state of salvage the vehicle is in," Catanzarite said.
