Flames leap into air as massive inferno rips through Adelaide auction house

A towering inferno has caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage at an auction warehouse in Adelaide’s north, though authorities are saying it could have been worse.

The massive fire erupted at Pickles Auctions’ storage yard on Main North Road in Salisbury Plain just before 2.00am on Thursday.

Dozens of cars stacked in piles of three were quickly engulfed by the blaze, with the flames jumping 20m into the air and causing loud explosions.

Nearly 40 firefighters rushed to the scene to battle the blaze, which took two hours to get under control.

Metropolitan Fire Service commander Noel Dodd said there was considerable risk when they first arrived.

“(It was) incredibly hazardous for firefighters when they first arrived because of the unknown fuel type and the speed that the fire was travelling,” he said to 7 News.

Fire cause investigators have determined the blaze was sparked by an electrical fault from one of the vehicles.

Nearly 50 cars have been charred beyond repair while the external wall of a shed has been damaged.

It is estimated that $300,000 in damage was caused.

Mr Dodd said 2000 more cars, the showroom and multiple buildings would have likely been lost if the fire had not been extinguished so quickly.

“The loss could have been far greater, in the millions I would say if it wasn’t contained to the area that it was,” he told 9 News.

Despite the blaze, the auction house still opened its doors on Thursday.