More than 200 cars damaged by fire in Newport-area storage lot

William Bretzger , Adam Duvernay | The News Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Raw Video: Blaze destroys over 200 cars in Newport Raw Video: Blaze destroys over 200 cars in Newport

More than 200 cars were damaged during a fire at a Newport-area storage lot Saturday.

It's not yet clear to investigators what caused the fire in the vehicle storage lot of Insurance Auto Auctions at 417 Old Airport Road. Investigators also have not yet put a dollar figure on the damage caused by the fire, the State Fire Marshal's Office said.

The blaze was reported shortly after 9 p.m. when a person driving through the area saw the flames and called in the emergency, according to a fire marshal spokesman.

Fire companies from around the area, including units from New Jersey, responded.

A large plume of dark smoke could be seen against the night sky from I-95, which runs close to the fire scene, as well as from Del. 141.

The cars stored at Insurance Auto Auctions are salvage vehicles, many waiting to be sold for parts. Many cars at the yard are stored in vertical racks as many as three high.

Robyn Roberts and her family drove down to Old Airport Road late Saturday to see the fire. Roberts once worked at a nearby yard and knows local business people in the area.

"They got lucky for that rain last night. It put that fire out quick," Roberts said.

Roberts said her salvage yard experience leads her to believe the fire likely started with a shorted-out battery. A fire like that could spread quickly through the stacks, she said.

"That's usually it, nine times out of 10. They're very combustible," Roberts said.

Roberts said fires like Saturday's have occurred at area lots in past years. She said it's easy to believe 200 vehicles were damaged, and she said it could have been worse.

"It went out very quickly, but it was very big," Roberts said.

Contact Adam Duvernay at (302) 319-1855 or aduvernay@delawareonline.com