LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — A swift response knocked down a small fire in a garage bay at Village Truck Sales on Thursday evening. 

 

A motorist notified police that he believed there was a fire at the Route 8 business and Fire Chief Charlie Durfee said the call of a structure fire came in at 5:39 p.m.

 

"The first engines to pull up on scene were Lanesborough and Cheshire's Engine 2, because they come for us right away, and they found a small fire inside the [bay] door on the left," he said. "We got in and knocked it down quick. ... There was more smoke than anything."

 

The blaze was contained to the inside corner in the northern-most bay and Durfee estimated the damage at probably not more than $5,000. A few items, including a toolbox and some car parts, were pulled out of the damaged bay. The area above the door was blackened from smoke but did not incur any fire damage.

 

Durfee said the cause is still under investigation but he's considering it an accidental fire. 

 

"They got lucky," he said. "The guys did a great job."

 

The business is outside the water district so both Cheshire and Dalton sent tankers and Lanesborough set up its pool as a water supply. Lanesborough Ambulance, Lanesborough and Cheshire Police and state police from the Cheshire barracks also provided aid. 

 

The busy highway was closed and traffic detoured over Old State Road for about an hour. The road was reopened at about 6:45 p.m.