The parking garage is a two-story facility built of reinforced concrete, and Urasoe Police say initial investigation would suggest the fire started with one motorcycle and then spread to the others. The first fire reports came from an individual in the parking garage who smelled something burning about 10:25 a.m. and called the fire emergency number. 13 motorcycles were destroyed and one car partly melted. Firefighters had the blaze out by 11:15 a.m.

A 15-year-old high school student living in an apartment house next to the parking garage also called police, telling officers “I heard a cracking sound, and opened me window. I saw fire covering motorcycles and a hot blast approached. “ The girl says she “heard cracking explosive sounds sometimes, too.” After the fire was extinguished, it was discovered that heat from the fire had cracked a window in her apartment.