Home > News > Arson suspected as dealership goes up in flames for second time this year
Arsonists are believed to be behind a blaze that broke out at a Nottinghamshire dealership early today.
Lowdham Cars in Gunthorpe went up in flames early this morning (Aug 7), with four cars inside and outside alight, as was the showroom, according to Nottinghamshire Live.
Four hose reel jets were used to extinguish the flames by crews from six Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service stations, who were called out at 3.07am.
03:07 hrs we currently have multiple crews dealing with an incident on Lowdham Road, Gunthorpe 🔥
— Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service (@nottsfire) August 7, 2022
They wore breathing apparatus as they tackled the flames at the single-storey building. There were no injuries.
It’s the second blaze suffered by the business this year, following a garage fire at the Lowdham Road dealership in January.
Police have cordoned off the dealership and an investigation into what caused today’s fire is set to take place, but Lowdham Cars told Car Dealer this morning it believed that arsonists were to blame. It declined to comment further as it was awaiting police.
Local resident Steve Simmons was quoted by Nottinghamshire Live as saying the dealership also had all its vehicles smashed up a few years ago. ‘I’m sure the police should be looking into it. It’s very strange,’ he said.
Others reported being woken by alarms and hearing tyres pop then seeing flashing blue lights and smoke.
One resident who didn’t want to be identified was quoted as saying: ‘It was quite a big fire.’
Nottinghamshire firefighters have also been tackling a major blaze that broke out on Friday that saw thousands of tyres, scrap vehicles and a number of diesel tanks at a scrap yard on an industrial site in Ranskill go up in flames, sending thick black smoke into the sky.
Two people at the site were treated for smoke inhalation by paramedics. Fourteen appliances plus support vehicles attended the scene at the height of the fire.
It was declared a major incident, with fire crews likely to remain there until early this coming week, and is being treated as arson. According to the BBC, youngsters had been seen letting off fireworks there earlier.
We are still at Ranskill and have the fire surrounded.
Well done to firefighters who've managed to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby businesses and properties. đź‘Ź
Thank you to the local community for your patience and support. pic.twitter.com/ywQruYNVfc
— Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service (@nottsfire) August 6, 2022
Main image via Google Street View and taken in May 2022
John has been with Car Dealer since 2013 after spending 25 years in the newspaper industry as a reporter then a sub-editor/assistant chief sub-editor on regional and national titles. John is chief sub-editor in the editorial department, working on Car Dealer, as well as handling social media.