CAMBRIDGE — No one was injured following an early evening fire at the Suds and Jiffy Lube on Hespeler Road in Cambridge Thursday.

Cambridge firefighters from all five stations responded to the fire call at 515 Hespeler Rd. around 6:45 p.m. and by the time they arrived about five minutes later, smoke and flames were visible at the front of the building.

Deputy Fire Chief Damon Jamieson said all employees and customers evacuated safely, and no firefighters were injured fighting the fire, but they were concerned about structural collapse.

He also said it was too early to speculate about the cause of the fire or the estimated cost.

"There will be smoke, fire and water damage," he said around 8:15 p.m., after most of the flames had been extinguished.

He said crews would remain on the scene all night putting out hot spots and monitoring the building.

Peter Walsh, president of MCGW Properties Corporation that owns the building and the property, said he hopes to rebuild sooner than later.

The fire destroyed much of the waiting area but the two businesses themselves were relatively unscathed.

"We will rebuild," he said. "Everyone got out safely so that's good." The business employs 50 people and the building itself is only about 13 years old. He does have fire insurance.

"I have no idea how it started," he said. He said he got the call about the fire at around 7:30 pm, but couldn't say what the repair might cost.

"Not cheap," Walsh said.

More than 100 witnesses watched the front of the structure burn and thick, black smoke was visible as far away as Kitchener.

Employees were not permitted to talk to the media and the owner of the business declined to comment.

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