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Raging Fire At Northeast Philadelphia Auto Body Shop Leads To Major Road Closures

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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A raging fire at an auto body shop in Northeast Philadelphia reached three alarms on Friday morning and led to major road closures in the area.

Firefighters were called to All Auto Body Repair on Bennett Road, near the Roosevelt Boulevard, just before 9 a.m. Crews arrived to big flames shooting from the roof.

"I was shocked, basically," said eyewitness Konstantine Zardiashbili. "I can't even say anything because everything burned in just a couple of minutes."

Workers say the fire started somewhere outside and no vehicles were damaged. When firefighters arrived, they almost immediately had difficulty battling the blaze.

"You couldn't access from the railroad side, so you had to fight it from three, instead of four sides, like we normally do," said Philadelphia Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy.

More than 120 firefighters were needed to get the flames under control.

The large response to the blaze forced the closure of part of the Roosevelt Boulevard, by Woodhaven Road, for a couple of hours.

Kevin Chan, with Fire Tech Restoration, said the damage to the auto body shop was extensive.

"It's a lot, it's bad," said Chan. "It was a three-alarm fire today, so all hands on deck.

Investigators are trying to figure out what sparked the fire. No one was injured.

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