NORWICH, Vt. -
Police awoke to all three of the department's cruisers burnt. Shockingly they do not think it was arson.
I was on the scene just hours after the flames were put out and spoke to the Norwich Police Chief.
"It kind of makes you speechless," Chief Doug Robinson said.
Just before three Thanksgiving morning, the Norwich Police Chief got a call from dispatch saying all three cruisers were engulfed in flames.
"That is our entire fleet, the three marked cars," Chief Robinson said.
Vermont State Police fire investigators say the cause is undetermined, but not suspicious.
Before we knew that information, even the Chief questioned it.
"It would be coincidental," he said.
Carter Glass lives right next to the Police Department, he woke up to the sound of the cruisers exploding.
"I heard another pop and I looked out my window and there's a ball of flames a couple stories high," Glass said.
This is the second of three cars that's being hauled away, to start the insurance process, so that they can get new cars here at the department. Each cruiser costs about 30-thousand dollars, plus all of the equipment, like computers and cameras. Insurance will pay for most of that but some of it will have to come out of the tax payer's pocket.
"Unfortunately tax payer dollars will pay for a small part of it yes," the Chief said.
While I was there, a cruiser from Hartford showed up to offer help.
"We'll still be able to perform our duties," Chief Robinson said.
And as the news continued to spread, on-lookers came out to see the scene that was still smoking.
"To have cars blow up is pretty major," Glass said.
But tis the season, despite this charred mess, the Chief still says he's thankful.
"We're very thankful nobody was hurt, we'll just go on from here," he said.
None of the cruisers were due to be replaced for a couple of years.
Police say the fire caused an estimated, 100-thousand dollars in damages.
