A Collingwood business was destroyed by fire yesterday evening. 

The call came in just before 6 p.m. that McLaughlin's Auto Wreckers was on fire.

At the height of the fire, 22 firefighters were needed at the scene. A three-bay garage and a storage unit on the side of the building were destroyed. The scrap cars at the back weren't touched.

Firefighters say the weather was a problem for crews.

“The wind was a little hazardous for us,” Deputy Fire Chief Ross Parr said last night. “That's why we evacuated the neighbourhood off the back of the building. They're all back in their homes now.”

No one was inside the building at the time; all the employees had left just after 5 p.m.

Fire crews were at the east-end business until about midnight putting out hot spots, and making sure the tire fires were out. There were no injuries.  

An investigation into the cause is to begin today.