[ACCIDENT] 1994 Corvette Catches Fire in Southwest Florida Neighborhood

A white 1994 Corvette coupe is just a pile of rubble after being burnt to a crisp by a fire in Florida on Monday afternoon.

Owner William Harrington had been restoring the car for the past couple of years and told a reporter for NBC2 News he had already invested about $20,000 in the car.

The dramatic action was captured on his own security camera as Harrington can be seen running back and forth, trying to move his other vehicles out of the way so he can get the Corvette out of his garage and prevent an even bigger disaster.

Fortunately, he was able to get the Corvette to the end of his driveway on 53rd Street West before it erupted into even bigger flames, but despite efforts by the Lehigh Acres Fire Department, the car wound up a total loss.

Photos before the fire that were provided by Harrington reveal a very nice White C4, with red leather interior. Video captured during the episode shows flames reaching into the air, and then eventually just a charred skeleton of the Corvette.

Harrington says he was just doing a routine compression check – “usually, I can do that without a problem” – when he heard a loud bang about 3 p.m. and then billowing smoke started to pour from under the hood.

“It just went boof!” he said. “Then I see flames and I try to put it out, but the garage was filled with smoke. I pushed it out a little bit, but there were cars in the way. I had to put a car there, a car in the back, and push it out some more.”

Fire officials said the Corvette was engulfed by the time they arrived, and “this is just an example of how a small fire can become a big problem,” said Katie Heck with Lehigh Fire and Rescue.

She’s just glad Harrington was able to avoid a bigger tragedy with the windy conditions and heavy brush surrounding his home on Monday afternoon.

“Something like this being pushed out into a heavily brushed area is always something to be aware of,” she said.

While firefighters weren’t able to save the car, they were able to extinguish the blaze and keep it from spreading to nearby homes and woods.

“Ain’t nothing really worth anything on it. It’s all burnt,” Harrington said.

Losing “his baby,” as he dubbed the Corvette, is a tough pill to swallow, noting that it had become “part of my family.”

One positive note – while Harrington was moving the car to the end of his driveway, he suffered only minor injuries.

Source:
nbc-2.com

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