By Elizabeth Tertadian
On Sunday, senior Jon Lamb's 2001 silver Subaru Impreza caught fire in the main parking lot while he was in the library studying.
"I heard this commotion as this guy was calling 911 saying a car was on fire," Lamb said.
He and others in the library, walked to the nearest window to see what was happening. As they neared the scene, Jon was thinking to himself, 'man, that's like exactly where I parked,' as the car was in flames. Realizing it was his own car on fire, he walked back where he and his housemate, senior Matt Krick, were studying and told him what happened.
According to Lamb, Krick just gave him a goofy smile and went back to studying. It was not until Lamb dragged him over to the window until his housemate believed him.
"He was speechless, as was I," Lamb said.
A fire truck and police car showed up at the fire to assess the damage and write a police report.
According to Lamb, the fire started right under the battery, which leads him to believe it could have been a small battery explosion. However many other unknown factors prevent any clear conclusion.
"It's a total mystery to me," Lamb said. "There is no good explanation I can come up with."
The car has yet to be towed, because the salvage yard buys the title to the car, which for Lamb is back home in Montana.
He will get $200 to $300 for his incinerated car. While he is waiting for the title to be mailed to him, Lamb and his friends are dissecting the interior of the car for untouched parts to sell online. According to Lamb, the entire interior of his car is still intact and perfectly fine.
On Wednesday, he attempted to take off the steering wheel, but with little success. According to Lamb, steering wheels are worth a lot because when people get in crashes and their air bag deploys, they must replace their steering wheel.
"As strong as I was, I couldn't get that damn wheel off," Lamb said.
Lamb has already taken out his stereo and other parts, which he hopes to sell while waiting for his car to be towed away. What will he be doing now without his car?
"Do what I did as a freshman, I guess," said Lamb.
