Fire At Sudbury Car Dealership Torches 19 Luxury Vehicles

SUDBURY (CBS) – Investigators in Sudbury are looking to determine what caused a fire that damaged 19 vehicles at a luxury car dealership overnight.

Firefighters responded to what was described as a large fireball overnight at Land Rover Sudbury, and knocked down the flames after about 45 minutes.

In total 19 vehicles were damaged, many to the point that identifying markings are completely gone. Eight of the vehicles were completely destroyed.

The fire broke out at the back of the lot, where some vehicles are parked for repairs, WBZ-TV's Bree Sison reported.

According to the state Fire Marshal's Office, the fire started in a Jaguar and extended to 18 other vehicles including Land Rovers, Range Rovers, Jeeps and Jaguars. The damage is estimated at $500,000.

"Some of the cars were so badly damaged that it's difficult to tell just what kind of cars they are," said Sudbury Fire Chief Bill Miles. "So I'm going to say some were new cars and some were not."

Investigators believe they have surveillance video they can access to determine what caused the fire.

There was no damage done to the building, and firefighters said no injuries were reported.

Firefighters said there is not yet a timeline for when the cause of the fire can be determined. Investigators are hoping to look at security footage from a neighboring car dealership as well as they hope to pinpoint the source of the flames.

On Monday afternoon, the owner of the dealership said it's possible some of the vehicles, many of which are valued at about $70,000 apiece, could belong to customers.

"It doesn't look good," said dealership owner Herb Chambers.

"I hate to have the customer in the middle of this. But we'll do our best to straighten it out."

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