Fire destroyed a small apartment above a downtown auto shop Saturday night, but good construction and quick action by firefighters spared the downstairs space, which houses several vintage cars, according to the Modesto Fire Department. Modesto and Stanislaus Consolidated units responded about 10:30 p.m. to a report of a commercial structure fire in the 600 block of 10th Street, according to a Facebook post by Modesto Fire. Crews found heavy fire conditions at the auto shop, and multiple nearby buildings were threatened, so a second alarm was sounded.
Firefighters initially did not know there were living quarters atop the building, Battalion Chief Darin Jesberg said Sunday morning. When they began their attack on flames coming from the southeast corner of the roof, they discovered the apartment.