An antique-car repair garage owned by the chief of Niota, Tenn.'s Union Grove Fire Department caught fire Sunday morning and caused an estimated $650,000 in damages.
No one was injured.
Alvin Shoemaker's garage, owned by Fire Chief Alvin Shoemaker, caught fire at about 6:30 a.m. Sunday. The building and several antique cars were burned in the blaze, said Harold Eaton, chief of the McMinn County Rescue Squad/Athens Rural Fire Department. Shoemaker had no insurance, said Eaton.
The Union Grove Fire Department is located behind the car shop.
It took about 30 to 40 firefighters and tankers from 10 fire districts to put out the fire. Firefighters were on the scene until about 11 a.m., said Eaton, who lives about a mile away from where the fire happened.
The cause of the fire has not been determined. State arson investigators are expected to be in McMinn County Monday, Eaton said.
Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or call 423-757-6431.