According to St. George Fire Department Battalion Chief Robert Hooper, the car caught fire inside a garage and though the car was likely a total loss, it could have been a lot worse.
On May 11 around 8pm, the St. George fire department responded to a call from the 2300 block of S. Circle in St. George, Utah. As it turns out, the owner of a 1,500-sq-ft garage was battling flames coming from his 1972 Chevrolet El Camino with a garden hose. Five engines, one ladder, one squad car, and 21 firefighters responded to the blaze and were able to put the fire out before it spread to the garage’s structure. In all, it is estimated that around $200k-$300k worth of damage was done between the car and the garage itself.
Find out what happened to a F40 that caught on fire here.
The cause of the fire is not yet known but an investigation is still ongoing, however, there is no indication that anything “suspicious” happened. Likewise, it is unlikely that the cause will be found due to the nature of the fire. “The car is what was on fire. It’s always hard to determine (the cause) of a vehicle fire because it gets so hot and so heavily involved. You just can’t determine what it is,” said Hooper.
Hooper’s advice for car collectors looking to prevent a loss of this scale is simple. “Make sure they’re serviced regularly,” Hooper said. “Make sure you don’t leave things plugged in: external battery chargers, anything. Gas cans in your vehicle, spilled gas in the shop, keeping a clean space. Not saying this was any of those at all, but if you’re looking to prevent something, those are good things to be aware of.”
