A Richmond auto business is considered a complete loss following a fire Monday afternoon.

Dispatchers received a call for a fire at A&W Auto Sales and Service at 165 Brunswick Road at around 12:30 p.m., according to a statement from Sagadahoc County Emergency Management Agency.

“Upon arrival, firefighters encountered a rapidly spreading fire, resulting in the activation of a second alarm and the response of additional fire and emergency resources from throughout the region,” according to the statement.

Over a dozen agencies from surrounding communities turned out to help. 

Residents and motorists were asked to avoid the area and part of the road was temporarily closed while crews worked to put out the fire.

Crews treated one A&W employee for a minor burn and smoke inhalation, according to Shannon Moss of the Maine Department of Public Safety. The person was not hospitalized.

Investigators from the state fire marshal's office found the fire was accidental. An employee inside the garage was welding on a vehicle, which caught fire, Moss said. The fire spread throughout the building and to other vehicles parked outside.

The blaze destroyed the garage and an above apartment.