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Three Cars Destroyed In Fire At Miami Auto Dealership

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A fire at a car dealership in Little Havana has police investigating whether the incident was arson.

The fire ruined four cars in the parking lot of Miami City Auto at 3160 Southwest 8th Street. An employee estimated the total damage to be about $60,000.

"It can't get any worse than this, you know what I mean," said Felipe, the manager at the dealership who asked we not use his last name.

City of Miami firefighters said they received a 911 call around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday from a passerby who noticed several cars on fire.

"Fire crews had to force entry into the property by cutting the locks because, at the time of night, the business was closed," said Lt. Pete Sanchez with Miami Fire Rescue.

Firefighters were able to put out the fire in about 15 minutes and no one was hurt. Three cars were left charred, and a fourth car was damaged by the heat.

"We're going to have to do some investigation to see what happened," said Luis Olivares, the owner of Miami City Auto, who added the damaged cars were insured.

Dealership employees spoke with firefighters and police who are now investigating the cause of the fire.

"They're trying to access cameras from adjacent buildings, they're trying to see if there were any witnesses," said Lt. Sanchez. "That's part of their investigation, whether it was accidental or arson."

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