A shop and several vehicles were destroyed in a fire on Farm-to-Market 49 two miles east of Mineola Sunday.

A structure fire at the Horn residence was called in to the Mineola dispatcher at 11:33 a.m. Sunday. Mineola Fire Department, as well as firefighters from departments in Hainesville, Quitman and Alba also responded.

The fire was in an old shop building at John Horn’s home. Firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to a newer shop and the family home but a race car and two others inside the shop as well as several outside were destroyed.

Mineola Fire Chief Mark Hooks said that firefighters could see the smoke in the sky when they left the fire station. Hook said firefighters efforts were “all defense” and the tin barn with a wood structure “was all on the ground” and consumed with fire when they arrived. There were also five or six more cars in the immediate shop area that also burned.

“We had a lot of cars on fire,” Hooks said. “It was pretty interesting when we got there.”

Hooks said Quitman firefighters fought the car fires while the Mineola, Hainesville and Alba firefighters worked on the structure. It took about an hour to get the fire where it was going down in size and about 2 ½ hours to extinguish it.

The property owner was insured. There were no injuries and Wood County Fire Marshal Tully Davidson said the blaze was accidental in nature of undetermined origin, starting in the back area of the shop where the race car was on a trailer.