Fire causes $400K in damage to Rising Sun car dealership garage

RISING SUN — An investigation is continuing after an early-morning blaze on Wednesday caused an estimated $400,000 in damage to an auto service center on the property of a car dealership near Rising Sun, according to the Maryland Office of the State Fire Marshal.

A passerby called 911 at 4:23 a.m. Wednesday after noticing the burning building at Ourisman Tri-State Ford in the 1200 block of Telegraph Road (Route 273), prompting area volunteer fire companies to respond, fire officials said. The Community Fire Company of Rising Sun served as the on-scene command unit, fire officials added.

Approximately 40 volunteer firefighters battled the blaze for about 40 minutes before bringing it under control, fire officials reported.

The two-alarm blaze caused an estimated $350,000 in structural damage to the auto service garage and destroyed approximately $50,000 in contents, according to an MOSFM spokesperson, who further reported that no one was injured.

MOSFM detectives conducted an on-scene investigation but, as of Thursday, investigators still were trying to determine where the blaze started and what caused it, according to fire officials.