CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. (WINK) — Fire crews battled a two-alarm fire at a Batteries Plus store in Port Charlotte on Tuesday afternoon.
The fire broke out at the store located at 1690 Tamiami Trail near Cochran Boulevard. Charlotte County Fire and EMS received the call shortly after 1 p.m., around 1:10 p.m.
Crews arrived within minutes and found heavy fire, thick smoke, high heat and low visibility in the back of the store, believed to be a storage area. Flames eventually vented through the roof.
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Because of the batteries stored inside, fire officials treated the response as a hazmat situation and called additional units to the scene. Deputy Fire Chief Bryan Carr said the first attack crews had to work on cooling both the environment and the batteries before they could move farther into the building.
Witnesses nearby told WINK News they watched the smoke get progressively worse before seeing flames shooting out of the roof. One witness said the flames appeared to reach as high as the nearby trees.
Others said knowing the fire was inside a battery store raised concerns about possible explosions. No injuries have been reported to customers or firefighters.
The fire is under control, but crews are still working to make sure it is completely extinguished and checking for remaining hot spots. Fire investigators are on scene, but they have not yet determined the cause or confirmed whether a battery played any role in starting the fire.
The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office said drivers should expect traffic congestion on northbound and southbound U.S. 41 near Cochran Boulevard because of the structure fire and FPL replacing a pole nearby. Deputies urged drivers traveling through the area to use caution and expect delays.