Fire ‘Engulfs’ Greylock Avenue Garage

A fire that broke out in a Belleville garage spewed billows of smoke visible from blocks away but did not cause any injuries early Thursday afternoon.

Witnesses from adjacent businesses said the fire quickly engulfed the garage. Still, firefighters were able to largely contain the blaze to the detached structure.

Vincent Coppola, a chemical compounder at a cosmetic coloring business around the corner from the garage said that firefighters responding to the scene evacuated him from his workplace at 1:30 p.m.

“When I came out, the garage was engulfed in flame,” Coppola said.

A resident of Cortland Street, over three quarters of a mile from Greylock Avenue, said she saw plumes of black smoke from her home.

Belleville Fire Department Battalion Chief Marty Lutz directed the response to the fire. He said that no one was inside the garage during the fire and said the fire was under control at approximately 2:45 p.m. Lutz said the fire spread slightly to offices on the street and that its radiant heat damaged the building’s aluminum siding.

Witnesses on the scene said there was a wood burning stove in the garage but Lutz declined to comment, saying that he needed to wait until the fire was investigated.