YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Fire destroys a Youngstown business before it has a chance to open its doors.

Thick black smoke blanketed the sky for miles in Youngstown as fire engulfed a warehouse on Madison Avenue, just after noon on Monday.

Every available firefighter in the city was called to the scene to battle the blaze.

John Parish is devastated. He was preparing to open this building as an auto body shop and tire center in two months.

But it's believed a welding torch sparked the fire and destroyed his dream.

"One of my workers was using the welding torch in the ceiling, cutting metal out, and that's probably what caused the flame," Parish said.

Firefighters used ladder trucks, and also tried to attack the fire from the roof. But they were forced to change that plan of attack when the roof was in danger of collapsing.

Youngstown Fire Chief, John O'Neill tells 21 News, "We already had to pull our guys out of there."

The owner of the business tells 21 News what's stored inside, including thousands of tires, only served to fuel the fire.

Youngstown firefighters had their work cut out for them when they were dispatched to the fire, and another fire at the same time on Monday.

To deal with the manpower issue, they called in the Austintown and Boardman Fire Departments to handle any other fires in the city.

But manpower wasn't the only problem; water pressure at the hydrants was also a cause for concern.

"It was just a spot between hydrants, and they were not high pressure hydrants like on the main drag and all that. So we were trying to get water from anywhere we can right now," Chief O'Neill said.

Fire crews also battled the wind and power lines that posed a safety threat.

"We're trying to get them shutdown, so that if these guys have to operate by the high power lines, we don't want those lines on," O'Neill said.

The auto shop owner is just thankful that no one was hurt, but believes the damage to the building and the contents inside could total approximately one million dollars.