(Michigan City, IN) - A quick response by firefighters could have saved a motor vehicle repair shop in Michigan City from going up in flames.

The fire, producing black smoke, was early this afternoon at Chris’s Car Care on U.S 20 west of Franklin Street.  Firefighters put out the flames before they could spread to several vehicles waiting to be fixed and the flammable liquids inside the garage, said Brock Kohler, Public Information Officer for the Michigan City Fire Department.

Kohler said it appears a front end alignment machine somehow caught fire.  The only structure damage was to the sheet metal firefighters pulled off the exterior to make sure the fire was completely extinguished, he said.  “It was definitely quick action that stopped it,” Kohler said.

Both eastbound lanes of U.S 20 were ordered close as a precaution but soon reopened once there was no longer a danger.