Firefighters were still on the scene at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday after a large fire gutted an auto body shop owned by Isherwood Body & Fender in an industrial area south of Duncan.

Fire crews were using a ladder truck to pour water onto the burned-out structure on Boys Road near the Trans-Canada Highway after being called to the scene at approximately 5:30 a.m.

As well as the severe damage to the building, a number of vehicles parked in front of the structure were also destroyed.

Isherwood Body & Fender spokesman Ryan Isherwood thanked the Duncan Fire Department on the company's Facebook page for their quick response.

"And huge thanks to the staff who quickly jumped into action and prevented this from getting worse," he said

"Even a couple of people passing by stopped to help. To all our customers that have vehicles at the shop, please give us some time to sort through this. We will be reaching out individually as we know more. We are currently unable to access customer contact information."

More information will be provided as it becomes available.