Hampton, New Brunswick — August 27, 2019 — An auto repair shop in Hampton, New Brunswick has been destroyed by a fire. Champions Choice Autobody and Raeburns Auto Experts went up in flames around noon on Sunday, August 25th.
It took Hampton firefighters three hours to extinguish the blaze, and thankfully, nobody was in the body shop or mechanic shop when the fire started. Though they managed to contain the fire solely to the property, the deputy chief Mike Raeburn said the building was not salvageable.
The deputy chief is also the brother of Raeburns Auto Experts’ owner, Tyler Raeburn.
“That’s what you dread as a firefighter to get a call for family,” said the deputy chief. “The main thing is nobody was injured.”
Jeff Smith, the owner of Champions Choice Autobody, posted a video along with pictures of the fire on Facebook.
“Unfortunately we have to cancel any appointments booked in the immediate future until we can sort out our policies tomorrow,” Smith wrote on his timeline. “We will start the rebuilding process ASAP atChampions Choice AutobodyandRaeburns Auto Experts. It’s been a rough day and we are obviously devastated.. thank you for your support.”
After more than a hundred comments, Smith followed-up yesterday morning.
“Meeting with the insurance adjuster later and inspector,” he wrote. “Unfortunately we will be a while before we are up and running again.. Gonna be a tough few months ahead and a lot of hard work.”
He added on Twitter he “can’t believe it’s gone.”
Both Raeburns Auto Experts and Champions Choice Autobody have a full five-star rating from the community on their respective Facebook pages. The cause of the fire is still being investigated.
