HAMMOND - A body shop down Alligator Drive in Hammond went up in flames Saturday morning. It neighbors a mobile home community, and residents say the shop had a fire at the same time the morning before, but that one was contained. The shop's renters say they rented from owner Shorty Rogers. "Who in their mind would burn a shop down, somebody's place of business? That's like somebody's home being burned down," said Tiara Pope, who rents one of the shops.The Hammond Fire Department got the call at 5:15 a.m. Saturday, and it took several hours to extinguish the fully engulfed building. "I've never witnessed a fire like that in real life, that was the first time I've ever witnessed that and it was just devastating, it really was."Pope says everything's a total loss. "It started from the end and it messed up so many peoples' cars that just got painted yesterday. I'm talking about money cars, not cheap cars, " Pope said. "There's a lot of stuff that can't be replaced, like tools, paint guns, stuff like that. There's more emotional damage than anything because it's really a big family out here."Hammond Fire Chief Daniel Folks confirmed the Friday morning fire and said investigators are working to see if the two fires are connected.Firefighters and other personnel from Natalbany, Albany, Independence, Ponchatoula, Livingston, 8th Ward and Tangipahoa assisted in extinguishing the fire which took around two hours. (Images courtesy of the Hammond Fire Department)Permalink| Comments