Stamford firefighters battling a stubborn blaze at a St. Marys Street auto body shop had to exit the building when the roof began to collapse, an official said.

Dozens of firefighters spent hours battling a fire that destroyed an auto body shop in Stamford on Thursday night. The Stamford 911 Center received a call at 8:55 p.m. reporting heavy smoke on Wardwell Street in the Shippan area of Stamford and crews who arrived around three minutes later determined it was coming from the corner of Halloween Boulevard