Charles Warner|Daily Times A section of a building at a Jonesville body shop continues to burn and collapse as firefighters attempt to extinguish the flames Thursday afternoon.

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Charles Warner|Daily Times Firefighters attempt to extinguish the fire that destroyed a building at a Jonesville body shop Thursday afternoon as a utility work deals with the power lines over the facility.

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Charles Warner|Daily Times The front of a building at a Jonesville body shop caves in as fire consumes the structure Thursday afternoon.

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Charles Warner|Daily Times The smoke raises from the ruins of a building at a Jonesville body shop and the cars that were inside it when fire broke out Thursday afternoon.

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Charles Warner|Daily Times Firefights continuing to hose down the smoldering ruins of a building at a Jonesville body shop destroyed by fire Thursday afternoon.

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JONESVILLE — What began as a report of a car fire turned out to be a structure fire that destroyed a Jonesville body shop Thursday afternoon.

Firefighters from the Jonesville, Kelly-Kelton, and Bonham fire departments battled the blaze at Justin’s Paint & Body, 215 S. Main St., Jonesville, for nearly four hours before clearing the scene at 3:48 p.m. Jonesville Chief Jimmy Wilkins, however, said his department was initially the only one dispatched when the call came in at 12:18 p.m.

“It was originally called out as a vehicle fire,” Wilkins said. “When I arrived at the scene I saw the building was involved. We have a mutual aid agreement with Bonham and Kelly-Kelton and when I saw the building was involved I had them called out.”

While it became a structure fire, Wilkins said the blaze apparently started when a vehicle inside the building caught fire. He said an employee had been welding on the vehicle and had left to go to lunch. A short time later, two men at a business across the street saw flames coming from the vehicle and called 911.

Despite battling the blaze for more than three hours, Wilkins said firefighters were unable to save the building. In addition to the building itself, Wilkins said a paint booth and three vehicles that were inside were also destroyed. He said two vehicles outside the building had heat damage.

Wilkins said there were no injuries.

Editor Charles Warner can be reached at 864-427-1234, ext. 14, or by email at cwarner@civitasmedia.com.