Fire at Maddox Motors extinguished quickly

COLUMBIA — A fire at a Columbia vehicle repair shop early Monday morning shut down parts of the Business Loop as firefighters worked to put out the blaze.

Jeff Maddox, the owner of Maddox Motors, called the Columbia Fire Department at 8:22 a.m. after a customer noticed smoke billowing from the rear and roof of the building, according to a fire department news release. The same customer had notified Maddox before the call was made to the fire department, the release said.

Firefighters arrived on the scene, 405 Business Loop E., about five minutes later and forced open a garage door behind the building to find the fire along the east wall of the shop. Crews were able to put out the flames in a couple of minutes but not before $5,000 of estimated damage was done to the building and its contents. As of Monday night, the cause of the fire is undetermined and being investigated.