At least 18 Jeep vehicles damaged in fire in Toledo

A fire broke out in a parking lot near Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Toledo Assembly Complex on Monday morning, damaging several Jeep vehicles.

The number of affected vehicles is "in the neighborhood of 18-22 vehicles," Sterling Rahe of the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department told Automotive News.

Toledo firefighters responded to the fire at 5:45 a.m. The initial report said a column of smoke could be seen for miles, Rahe said.

This morning, FCA representatives on the scene said company officials were notified and were arranging to have investigators travel to the site, Rahe said, to determine whether there was damage to any other vehicles.

The cause of the fire had not been identified, he said.

Rahe said the vehicles sustained "varying levels" of heat and smoke damage, ranging from minor to a total loss.

"It was a windy morning so some of the products of the fire carried down through other vehicles," Rahe said. "The initial report was 18-22, and maybe more depending on what they find."