[I]A[I]A 2010 GT-R sports car, valued at close to $90,000, burned inside a locked showroom at a Gainesville car dealership late Sunday, police and firefighters reported.
One possibility behind the blaze, which was discovered shortly after a guard completed rounds to make sure the Gainesville Nissan dealership was secure, was a fallen light, firefighters confirmed. But the specific cause and origin of the fire remained under investigation Monday afternoon, said fire rescue spokeswoman Carol Davis.
Gainesville police said the fire was reported around 10 p.m. at the dealership at 3915 N. Main St.
The first officers at the scene found the car fully engulfed in flames, according to police. Glass doors were broken to give firefighters access to the car.
The car was a Super Silver GT-R Nissan, Davis said.
“They did have a security guard there, but he wasn’t able to get into the building,” Davis said. “When the fire department and police got there, they had to break the doors to get in.”
Stacy Calhoun, the dealership’s parts and services director, said firefighters weren’t sure how the fire started or if it started in the car.
An arson investigator was at the scene early Monday searching for clues into the cause of the fire.
“It’s unusual for a car to catch fire in a closed building,” Davis said.
No other parts of the business were damaged by the fire or efforts to enter the building except for the car and the building’s doors, Davis said.
The dealership has one other GT-R in the showroom, Calhoun said.
Calhoun also said that the guard at the dealership had just performed rounds
and made sure the building was secure before the fire was discovered
