Fire at Storage Units on South Jackson

A self-storage facility at 4309 South Jackson caught fire early Sunday evening. Smoke is billowing out of the roof from a unit or units near the street.

Firefighters are attempting to find the unit or units that are on fire, and the origin of the smoke.

South Jackson Street is closed while the fire is being battled. When we arrived 15 minutes ago, no visible flames were present.

Update 7:45 p.m.

As the smoke billowed from the storage unit building, firefighters were able to pin-point the unit where the fire was. They spent seveal minutes cutting the door off to reach the inside.

Once inside, it appeared to be a stored vehicle that caught on fire.

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Update 7:55 p.m.

When smoke originates in one storage unit, the smoke travels across the ceiling. According to Fire Marshal Ross Coleman, pinpointing what unit was on fire was a challenge initially. "There's aboit a six- to eight-inch gap on the ceiling line," he said.

Somebody was using an angle grinder to perform sheet metal work to the interior floorboard of an American-made muscle car. Coleman said the work was being done probably within the past two hours. "Sparks were emitted, caught nearby combustables on fire, like the headliner. It starts smoking and fills up the entire building," he said. When the firefighters arrived and found the storage unit, there were visible flames, he said.

The fire was extinguished and there were no injuries.

Update 8:36 p.m.

Clarified that the fire marshal said it was an angle grinder, not a welder that was the source of the sparks.