Rick & Ron’s fire deemed accidental; 4 buildings damaged
Photos by Ginny Kropf: A fire Saturday afternoon caused extensive damage to Rick & Ron’s Auto Sales at 11205 Ridge Rd.
RIDGEWAY – Orleans County fire investigators have determined a massive fire on Saturday at Rick & Ron’s Auto Sales was accidental.
“They were working on a car’s evaporation system and the gas fumes ignited while a worker was using a drill,” said Justin Niederhofer, deputy director of the Orleans County Emergency Management Office.
There isn’t an estimate yet on the damages. The fire damaged four buildings with the main office suffering extensive damages and a garage/workshop a total loss. Two buildings that were the neighbors also had minor damage.
In addition to the structures, six vehicles also damaged with three owned by Rick & Ron’s.
The family who lives next door received Red Cross assistance so they could stay elsewhere for one to two nights so their home could ventilate, Niederhofer said today.
Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at about 3:20 p.m. on Saturday. There were flames were shooting out of windows in the garage/workshop and explosions could be heard.
