FERRISBURGH — An alert McDonald’s Restaurant customer and a quick response on Wednesday evening by Ferrisburgh and Vergennes fire departments saved a Route 7 business, according to Ferrisburgh Fire Chief Bill Wager.
At about 8:45 p.m. on Dec. 9 the Ferrisburgh Fire Department received an alert from a 911 operator that there was a fire at 802Performance, an automobile repair business at 2777 Route 7, across the highway from McDonald’s and Jiffy Mart.
Wager said a woman at the restaurant noticed “a glow” coming from the garage.
“Her vigilance saved the day,” he said.
Within minutes, about 20 firefighters and multiple vehicles from each department were on the scene to attack the fire, which at that point Wager said was limited to just one wall.
Firefighters opened that wall and were able to extinguish the blaze quickly with minimal use of water.  
“It was a good save for Ferrisburgh and the city of Vergennes,” Wager said.
As a result, Wager said, damage to the structure and the business was so minimal that on Thursday morning he speculated that 802Performance might be able to open this weekend.
Without the early detection, the news almost certainly would not be as good, he said.
“It’s all about timing,” Wager said. “It could have been much different.”
The fire was accidental, he said, although the cause has not been pinpointed.
“We’re still trying to figure out exactly what happened,” Wager said on Thursday. He pointed to items typically found in a repair shop as the most likely cause of the fire.
Vermont State Police directed traffic at the scene, but unlike at recent traffic accidents to which Ferrisburgh emergency personnel have also responded, Route 7 was not closed.