A hot battery charger is believed to have sparked a fire Sunday morning at Dickerson Tire Service, 2607 Halls Ferry Road, that caused significant damage to the business and three vehicles inside the service center’s garage, said Vicksburg Fire Investigator Leslie Decareaux.

Firefighters got the call at 9:24 a.m., and Decareaux said they had the fire under control in a matter of minutes. The fire at the longtime Marcus Bottom business nonetheless caused extensive smoke and heat damage to the inside of the garage area and to the vehicles. No additional information on the vehicles was available.

“It was an accidental fire,” said Decareaux. “The owner said he had put a battery on a charger, and it appeared to have melted the battery and started the fire.”

The business was closed at the time, and no injuries were reported.

The business had been sold in early October to Allen Frank and Kemp Burley Jr.