BATH — Less than 20 hours before the chief of naval operations arrived at Bath Iron Works to tour the shipyard and participate in a ceremony, a fire ignited in a building in the south end of the yard Tuesday evening.

The west wall of the large, multi-storied storage building, located just north of the Ultra Hall, was destroyed, Bath Fire Chief Steve Hinds said this morning.

Bath fire personnel responded at 5:14 p.m. to the call, sending 13 firefighters, two engines, a ladder truck and a rescue unit to work with the Bath Iron Works fire brigade to knock down the blaze.

When the Bath firefighters arrived, “we found a lot of smoke and fire showing from the entire west wall of that building,” which Hinds said measured approximately 100 feet by 100 feet.

The building was not destroyed, Hinds said, but one wall was torn off and contents were damaged.

No injuries were reported.

Firefighters cleared the scene at 7:20 p.m.

The West Bath Fire Department provided coverage at the Bath Fire Station.

Hinds said he would return today to the shipyard to investigate how the fire may have started.

BIW spokesman Jim DeMartini today had no further information on the fire.

bbrogan@timesrecord.com