A weekend fire at a Powell storage unit facility appears to have caused a complete loss to a section of units at the business.

The fire at Branch Line Storage appears to have begun in a pickup that had been parked inside one of the units, said Powell Fire Chief Cory Baker. The truck’s owner told firefighters that they had pulled the vehicle out of the unit to do some work on it, “then put it back inside the unit,” Baker said. “At that point, [they] noticed a fire in the engine compartment.”

The Powell Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to the business — located on Road 8, north of Powell High School — at 2:46 p.m. Saturday. Firefighters found one of the units fully engulfed in flames and ammunition popping. While the first responders got water on the main unit in the center of the eight-unit section, locks had to be broken on other units to get them open.

Black smoke poured from all eight of the units, but only three caught fire, said Branch Line Storage co-owner Andy Metzler. The three units are in the center of the structure, possibly damaging support beams for the entire section.

“We’re working with insurance but right now but we assume it’s totaled,” Metzler said Monday.

The damaged structure is the original unit, built about 18 years ago; there are now several other structures with a combined 49 units leased. Those who lease units are required to carry their own insurance to cover the damage, as specified in the leasing agreement.

—By Mark Davis and CJ Baker