Firefighters used a chainsaw to cut through an awning that was on fire Wednesday in Whiteland.
A fire damaged a Whiteland strip mall awning Wednesday morning, and no injuries were reported.
The fire was reported at around 7 a.m., when a section of wooden and glass overhang caught fire near Studio 31 Salon, adjacent to a Marathon gas station northeast of the U.S. 31 and Whiteland Road intersection. The business was closed during the fire, and no one was inside the building, Whiteland Fire Chief Eric Funkhouser said.
While the exact cause of the fire hasn’t been determined yet, Funkhouser said it appears an exterior light on the building caught fire. Firefighters from Greenwood and Whiteland were able to extinguish the flames within 15 minutes. The White River, Franklin, Bargersville and New Whiteland fire departments also responded to make sure the fire was contained, he said.
In order to extinguish the fire, firefighters had to cut through the awning using a chainsaw, Funkhouser said.
“There’s glass on top of the wooden (awning), and smoke was pushing into the building. There was nobody in there this morning, so I’m guessing a passerby called it in,” he said.
There was no interior damage and firefighters gave the all-clear to open the building for business by 8 a.m., he said.
