Car fire in Hillsborough Street parking deck Tuesday night evacuates businesses

A car fire closed the 2500 block of Hillsborough Street near N.C. State and forced the evacuation of nearby businesses

According to Jim Sughrue, of the Raleigh Police Department, a 1999 maroon Dodge Stratus parked in the parking deck under The Alley appeared to catch fire in the engine compartment.  Emergency vehicles and smoke prompted the road closure around 9 p.m.

Eyewitnesses say the vehicle was already engulfed upon discovery.

"I saw smoke coming from the [parking deck] and when I saw the car, flames was coming from the hood," said James Cates, employee at Savage & Heads Tattoo shop.

Sugrue said the incident was not suspicious.

"There was nothing the police found to make this look like an arson case," Sugrue said.

Bystander Caleb Leonard said although the vehicle was surrounded by other parked cars, it was the only one on fire.

"It was just one car by itself," Leonard said. "We grabbed a fire extinguisher, but that just kept it from spreading."

According to Sughrue, no other vehicles were reported damaged in the fire.

"There were other cars nearby, and as far as our report goes, there was no damage," Sughrue said.  "But that doesn't mean there wasn't any heat damage to nearby cars."

Smoke from the fire filled the deck and billowed out onto Hillsborough Street for hours.

"There were people in there taking pictures," Cates said. "But then the smoke got too bad."

The fire department had to put out the fire and clear the parking deck of smoke.

"The flames were probably 10 feet tall," Cates said. "It was burning good."

Businesses, such as The Alley, Savage & Heads Tattoo Shop, and Wolfpack Pub, were forced to evacuate because of the smoke coming from the parking deck.

News Editor Nathan Hardin contributed to this report.