A car auction house in Texas went up in flames this weekend, destroying more than 40 cars that were waiting to be sold off. Firefighters were called to tackle the blaze at the Insurance Auto Auctions (IAAI) site in Denton County, Texas, which went up in smoke early Sunday morning.
Denton County Fire crews were called to the scene on McPherson Road, where they spotted “a large column of smoke and flames,” according to reports from local news outlet NBCDFW.
The blaze took around an hour for firefighters to contain and, in the process, destroyed around 45 cars that were waiting to go under the hammer. The fire shouldn’t come as a great loss to automotive history, as the auctioneer in question reportedly specializes in the sale of totaled, damaged and reclaimed cars. In a statement, Denton County Fire service said:
Upon arrival, Denton County ESD No 1. found 20-30 vehicles fully involved at a large automobile auction facility and began attack.
Justin Fire Dept., Flower Mound Fire Department, Roanoke, TX Fire Department and Ponder Volunteer Fire Department were also dispatched.
At 4:57am, the fire was under control. In total, 45 vehicles were involved.
Denton County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the incident.
The findings of the fire marshal’s investigation will be particularly interesting as this isn’t the first time a fire has broken out at the auction facility on McPherson Road. Last December, a similar blaze erupted and engulfed almost 60 cars that were being stored at the facility.
During that blaze, firefighters had to move cars out of the path of the fire to help contain it. The fire on Christmas Eve 2023 was deemed an accident following a fire service investigation. It was reportedly started around one of the car’s batteries and quickly spread to the surrounding vehicles.
Similar vehicular blazes have also erupted at car showrooms and in container ships in recent months. So maybe avoid parking your old or broken down cars near anything too flammable.