Massive fire breaks out at west Phoenix RV dealership

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - It was business as usual at La Mesa RV in Phoenix, but it was a much different scene earlier in the morning.

"I saw the pride group show up and start putting up fences," Kevin Barry said.

Barry came into the La Mesa RV lot off of 75th Avenue and McDowell in search of a new RV, and he had no problem looking through the inventory, despite a massive fire on the property overnight.

"And I just kind of looked over there and the guys (said) like, 'yeah, we had a fire last night,'" he said.

About 80 firefighters were on scene when they were called out at around 12:30 a.m. The second-alarm fire filled the large show room and service bays with thick smoke and flames, and the flames spread to the roof, causing crews to use ladder trucks and fight the fire from the outside.

"As far as collapse go, I didn't hear reports of collapse, but I do understand that the fire burnt through the roof, that leaves a large hole there and obviously when you have any part of that roof structure that's compromised, that's burned through, the potential for collapse is much greater," Capt. Jake Van Hook said. "That explains why we will crews out of there."

A spokesperson for La Mesa issued a statement saying two RV's being prepared for delivery to new owners were damaged and that no one was hurt.

The lot opened to customers, like Barry, on time, even though crews were still on scene cleaning up.

Barry will probably be back another day to keep looking.

"Just a fifth-wheel trailer, 39-40 footer," he said.

Even though it is believed that the fire started somewhere on the roof, the exact cause is under investigation.