Fire damages cars, building at dealership

A car engine fire inside the service center at the Eric Von Schledorn dealership on Highway 33 in Saukville last week caused smoke damage to the building and many of the classic vehicles stored there, but emergency response officials say it could have been much worse.

On Aug. 2, someone called the fire department after noticing a silver sports utility vehicle was on fire inside the service center, which was closed at the time.

Fire Chief Bill Rice said an employee of the dealership informed him that the vehicle’s fuel system did not operate properly, but it is unclear how the fire began.

While crews made their way to the scene, the building’s sprinkler system activated.

“It did not extinguish the fire, but it prevented it from spreading to other vehicles,” Rice said.

Once crews arrived on the scene, he said, they were able to extinguish the blaze in a matter of minutes after making their way to the vehicle through thick smoke that accumulated in the building.

 After the blaze was extinguished, the Saukville Fire Department spent about two hours clearing smoke out of the building using fans.

In addition to vehicles which are in need of repair, the dealership stores many valuable classic cars in the service center.

“Most if not all the vehicles inside, whether they were classic cars being stored or personal cars being serviced, did receive smoke damage,” Rice said. “In some cases very minor, but in some cases more significant.”

Rice said that while the vehicles may have had smoke damage, had it not been for the sprinkler system, the fire may have caused more severe damage.

“If the sprinklers didn’t go off, it would have been a larger fire, a faster moving fire, and it is likely it would have spread to other vehicles,” he said.

One firefighter was injured after being launched into the air by a firehose.

Rice said when crew brought a large diameter hose into the building, it got hung up on the bed of a fire engine. The firefighter was standing on the hose when the snag caused the line to stretch.

“That caused him to be launched into the air,” Rice said. “When he came down, the result was that he had a serious hand and arm injury. But he is going to be OK.”

In addition to the Saukville Fire Department, the Saukville Police Department, Grafton Fire Department, Port Washington Fire/Rescue Department and Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

A representative of Eric Von Schledorn could not be reached for comment.