Eight used cars were destroyed by fire Monday morning in a secured area of Lake City. The Northeast 137th Street property is owned by local business SNS Auto.
Witnesses said they were surprised by a strange noise around 5 a.m. LaShauna Groves lives across the street. She was worried that the fire would turn into an explosion once it reached the gas tank.
“We were concerned that some of the cars on the street were going to catch fire if management didn’t get there soon,” Groves said. “It’s scary, it’s right next to my house.”
She estimates that it took between 15 and 30 minutes for the Seattle Fire to arrive.
Officials from the Seattle Fire Department reported that there were no injuries or damage to nearby property. They are investigating the cause of the fire.
Halfway around the world, the owner of SNS Auto was enjoying a family vacation in Lebanon when they learned of the devastation. The owner’s daughter, Sabrina Ghazal, shared her frustration over Zoom with us.
“It’s shocking,” Ghazal said. “It’s a small company. We’re not Ford or Chevrolet. Literally, my dad’s here supporting us.”
According to Ghazal and her father, the piece had been targeted by criminals before. The family said they reported this to the Seattle police.
“They take the whole car out, the catalytic converters. That was by far the worst thing we’ve seen,” said Gazelle.
Based on what she’s seen so far, Ghazal estimates there could be $150,000 in damage.
“There’s a lot more insurance might be able to do,” said Ghazal. “So, this is a great loss.”
