MONTICELLO — A Monticello mainstay was lost Wednesday morningwhen a raging fire destroyed about one-third of Reid’s Tire andAuto at the corner of Highway 84 and F.E. Sellers Highway.

“As long as it’s been around, it’s kind of like a member of thefamily has been lost,” said Tommy Jolly, who owns the building andleases it to the Reids’.

The building was constructed in 1948 and housed Bufkin MotorCompany until 1963, when the Jollys bought into the business. Itwas operated as Jolly-Bufkin Ford for a decade until it was renamedJolly Ford in 1973. Jolly Ford closed their doors in 2000 andReid’s Tire and Auto opened a few years later.

Firefighters responded to the blaze between 2:30-3 a.m. afterbeing notified of heavy smoke pouring from the building. Thebuilding erupted into fire as they arrived, said Monticello FireDepartment Captain Hugh Summers.

“It busted out about the time we got there,” he said. “As wedrove up, it blew the windows out.”

The Topeka and Silver Creek Volunteer Fire Departments werecalled in to assist with the fire.

“We had three trucks and about 20-30 firefighters on the scene,”Summers said.

Not much is known of the cause of the fire, Summers said, and itis still under investigation. State fire marshals arrived in townabout 8 a.m. Wednesday to begin their routine investigation.

Preliminary information indicates the fire began in the displayarea, which was the former showroom for Jolly Ford, but fireinvestigators had been unable to determine a cause Wednesdaymorning.

“The roof caved in and it was made of steel beams, so the flooris littered with twisted metal beams and shelving,” Summers said.”It’s been hard to get around in there.”

Firefighters were on the scene putting out hot spots untilaround 9 a.m.

The fire was essentially contained to the display and auto partsstorage area, Summers said, but the shop area did sustain somedamage and customers vehicles were also likely damaged.

“The shop got some heat damage,” Summers said. “I saw some ofthe golf carts he sells with the upholstery melted off, and one carclose to the wall had heavy damage to it.”

Jolly said Wednesday morning that he had not spoken to the Reidsyet and was not aware of their plans.

However, Jolly said he has no plans to repair the building butadmitted he has not made a firm decision yet.

“I think you would have to tear it down and rebuild it from theground up,” he said. “I’m not sure I want to do that. There’s a lotof questions to be answered in the next few weeks.”

One of the options, he said, is to level the building’s charredremains and sell the property, which is located on the corner ofMonticello’s busiest intersection.