NEW: Fire scorches corner of Toyota dealership in Royal Palm Beach

ROYAL PALM BEACH -- It was business as usual the the Southern 441 Toyota dealership in Royal Palm Beach on Monday afternoon -- albeit in a smaller space, and with the smell of smoke lingering in the air.

Dealership employees and construction crews were cleaning up the sales floor after a fire scorched the southwest corner of the building about 9 p.m. Sunday.

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue and sheriff's office crews were quick to respond, dealership owner Andrew Scearce said Monday.

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The fire started just before 9 p.m., he said, a fact he knows because a security camera on that corner of the building lost power at 8:49 p.m.

When Scearce arrived at the dealership Sunday night, the lobby was filled with smoke. Looking into the building was "like a carton of milk."

The cause of the fire was either electrical or "somebody flicked a cigarette," Scearce said he was told by firefighters.

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The heat blew out several panels of glass in the front left corner of the building facing Southern Boulevard. Scearce and his team called Anderson Moore Construction Sunday night to build a temporary wall around the damage. The company was there first thing Monday morning, said Nicholas Berndt, director of facilities for the dealership.

Scearce said his goal is making sure his 108 employees have food to put on the table.

That's why he opened for business at 7 a.m. Monday, with the neighboring Mazda dealership providing a waiting area for Toyota's service customers until crews got the air conditioning running just after noon Monday.

"I don't care about the building," Scearce said. "We've got insurance. I mean, it'll hurt. But we've got employees who rely on this."

Sales, service, parts -- every department was fully operational, with just a small portion of the front area taped off Monday. Chairs damaged by water and ash, some covered in soggy drywall, sat out front.

Just a tinge of smoke remained.

"We just want to make sure everybody knows we're open," Scearce said.

The fire shouldn't hinder expansion plans approved by Royal Palm Beach's council in May. In fact, Scearce said, it may speed them up because the fire happened on the side of the building that is being pushed farther west to make room for a larger service department.

kwebb@pbpost.com

@kristinawebb

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