A small electrical fire at a local family-owned cabinet shop left owners with thousands of dollars in equipment damage Thursday.
Jerry Machado, owner of Jay and Jay Towing, noticed smoke looming from Oswell Willco Company, a cabinet shop located behind the towing company at 16904 Sierra Hwy in Canyon Country.
“We’re all close and I thought they might be having a barbeque so I went to say ‘hey why wasn’t I invited?’ that’s when I saw it was a fire,” he said.
Machado called the local fire department at 1:14 p.m., they arrived extinguished it in 11 minutes.
The fire was caused by a battery that was left plugged in, it overheated and set fire to wood materials left nearby, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Josh Clark.
Tracy Jr. Oswell, the owners son, looked dismayed but positive.
“I was just here making cabinets, we were gone maybe two hours to buy a door before I got the call,” Oswell said. “It could be worse, the whole shop could be gone.”
The building was made of metal and had $500 in damage but its contents cost $2,000, Clark said.
The shop owners did not have insurance at the time of the accident.
Fire Damages Sierra Highway Cabinet Shop
