PORT ST. LUCIE − Officials are investigating the cause of a large fire Aug. 20 that ravaged an auto customization business on Southwest Grove Avenue, according to the St. Lucie County Fire District.
Crews about 10:45 p.m. went to the 700 block of Southwest Grove Avenue and found a “single-story warehouse heavily involved in flames,” the Fire District stated. The address is just east of Florida’s Turnpike and just north of Southwest Crosstown Parkway.
The business is WM Customs, and the roof early on Aug. 21 appeared to be completely burned away as firefighters worked the area. Yellow fire line tape blocked off the warehouse area.
Standing at the scene around 10 a.m. Aug. 21, Victoria DaSilva said she and her husband opened the business nearly 18 months ago.
“Business finally started getting great. Our clients are amazing,” she said. “We have a very amazing team and it’s very unfortunate to have a fire at our shop.”
DaSilva said they perform auto customization work, such as wraps, tints, tunings and ceramic coatings.
“Basically, we make your car look pretty,” she said. “We work with performance and customizing your car through the exterior.
Three vehicles and a trailer were inside getting work done.
“Unfortunately, everything is gone,” she said.
Next steps, she said, include communicating with clients.
“We’re going to try and get everyone rescheduled to a new location this week, so we’re going to keep moving forward,” DaSilva said. “God knows what He’s doing, and I’m sure He has very big plans for us.”
St. Lucie County Fire District Capt. Casey Hogan said firefighters were making efforts to prevent the fire from starting again.
“Once we have a fire of this magnitude there’s so many different holes, there’s different eaves, there’s different sections that could still hold void spaces,” Hogan said. “We don’t want this thing to rekindle.”
No injuries were reported.
The incident comes almost three years after another fire at an automotive business in the 700 block of Southwest Grove Avenue. Firefighters in October 2022 went to Hades Motorsports, where individuals there at the time reported they primarily perform work on muscle cars.
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The cause of the recent fire appears to be accidental, Port St. Lucie Police spokesman Sgt. Dominick Mesiti said.
DaSilva said they’ve had calls and messages from clients.
“They’re all so dear to our heart,” DaSilva said. “And we really appreciate everyone reaching out, and as soon as we can, we’ll give everyone more updates.”
(This story was updated with more information, photos and video.)
Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Large fire burns auto customization business in Port St. Lucie