5 cars at Vancouver dealership damaged in fire

VANCOUVER, Wash. (KOIN) — Two cars were destroyed and another 3 were damaged when they went up in flames overnight at Woodrow Truck and Equipment in Northeast Vancouver.

Cell phone video from an employee at a nearby business shows the flames, which grew large before fire crews arrived to extinguish the fire.

It’s unclear exactly what caused the fire, but owner Steve DeGrandPre believes gas thieves may be to blame. There’s even a piece of siphon hose left behind that could have been used to siphon gas from one of the cars. The owners said it wouldn’t be the first time someone tried stealing gas from vehicles there.

“Usually they get the job done, they leave me just the gas lap door open on the vehicle and gas cap laying on the ground,” DeGrandPre said.

“It’s very frustrating. Being a small business, we don’t have the backing of a lot like a bigger business, so we are going to have to clean up everything and just move one from it,” the owner’s daughter Stephanie DeGrandPre said. “But It’s a lot of financial stress.”

She blames the repeat issues to their proximity to the freeway.

The good news is that DeGrandPre’s insurance deductible is $500 for the approximately $3,000 in damage.

Police said an arson investigator will be following up.