Firefighters in Crawford County fought a raging fire at an auto repair shop south of Cochranton Tuesday afternoon. 

Crews went to the scene of a reported brush fire around 3 o'clock,  on the property of Adam’s Automotive in the Steen Hill area.

Battalion Chief for the Cochranton Fire Department, Ryan Sekurski said the business owner was burning boxes when the wind blew flames onto the nearby building.

According to Sekurski, the building was fully engulfed when crews arrived. Black smoke was visible for miles and could be seen as far away at Interstate 79.

He said nearby tires and surrounding cars helped to contribute to the fire's spread. Exploding propane tanks and oil drums also complicated the situation.

In addition to Cochranton, volunteer departments from West Mead 1 and 2, Vernon Central, Greenwood, Utica, Sandy Lake, and Cooperstown all responded.

There were no accessible fire hydrants nearby, so crews had to use French Creek as a water source, it took crews roughly an hour to put out the flames.

During the firefight, a West Mead 1 firefighter injured his ankle and was taken from the scene on a stretcher.

After dousing the flames, first responders discovered a dog had died inside the building.

The garage housed a second-floor apartment, in which four people had lived in. One person was inside at the time of the fire but was able to make it out safely.

The apartment and most of the building was declared a total loss.

Even with that in mind, Sekurski says the fire could have been much worse, as the winds and dry conditions could have lead the flames to an adjacent home on the property.  

Sekurski praised the work of all volunteer companies.

"When you're short-handed in the day time, for a volunteer company, a lot of guys got to do twice the duty.” Sekurski said  “Which, they did an excellent job for the first crews and what they had, and they all did a fine job."

According to officials at West Mead 1, the injured firefighter is expected to be okay.