An Odessa family lost a 4,500-square-foot detached garage/shop/office in an early morning fire Tuesday.
Odessa Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Quentin Dobmeier said an Odessa police officer was on patrol when he saw flames coming out of a shop in the 5700 block of Colorado Avenue around 1:30 a.m.
The officer notified the residents of the nearby home and when firefighters arrived, the entire shop was fully engulfed in flames, Dobmeier said.
Just under 20 firefighters brought the fire under control in about 45 minutes, but remained on scene checking for hot spots until about 7:30 a.m., the battalion chief said.
No one was injured, but the shop and its contents, which included vehicles and tools, were a total loss, he said.
Fireworks had been reported in the area, but the cause of the fire remains under investigation, Dobmeier said.
Although OFR responded to several small brush fires and Dumpster fires caused by fireworks, he said the 4th of July weekend wasn’t as chaotic as in years’ past.
