A Marathon gas station and convenience store, 2702 E. Washington Ave., suffered nearly $50,000 in damages as a result of a fire early Monday morning.
According to the Madison Fire Department, the fire started at about 6 a.m. Monday morning, and crews responded quickly to fight the blaze. MFD Public Information Officer Lori Wirth said several fire stations combined to work together. Crews fought through metal doors and sheeting on the roof before the fire could be smothered.
She said since it was a gas station, firefighters were extremely cautious. According to Wirth, the propane tanks and gas pumps posed an interesting problem to firefighters. If the blaze were to have gotten out of control, an explosion would most likely have ensued.
""The first thing they did was [clear] the place of the propane tanks and shut off the gas pumps and have MG&E come and shut things down,"" Wirth said.
The building was unoccupied and suffered $50,000 in damages to the internal part of the store. Wirth noted the fire occurred during the first part of rush hour, and that traffic on E. Washington Ave. had to be rerouted while firefighters fought the blaze.
""Traffic was actually rerouted for about 45 minutes,"" Wirth said.
