fire sale

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A sale of merchandise damaged by fire.

Wiktionary

1. n. A clearance sale at greatly reduced prices, often at losses. Originally, a sale of product that had been damaged by fire or that could no longer be stored because the storage facility had been destroyed by fire necessitating immediate sale or loss of value.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. a sale of objects damaged by fire, usually at much reduced prices.
2. n. A sale of objects or assets at much reduced prices, often performed to raise money rapidly.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a sale of assets at very low prices typically when the seller faces bankruptcy
2. n. a sale of merchandise supposedly damaged by fire